Hermione's Future
by Queenjess1
Summary: Hermione Granger must go back in time in order to secure her future. Along the way she makes friends with the Marauders and falls in love with the most unexpected man Severus Snape.
1. Chapter 1

Hermione Granger was sitting quietly in the Great Hall at the Gryffindor table and eating her breakfast. Next to her sat her friends Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. They currently were all in their sixth year of Hogwarts. She listened to them talk about the upcoming Yule Ball and she had no plans of even going. Harry was obviously going to go with Ginny and Ron who knows what girl he'll choose, but Hermione didn't have anyone to bring. She didn't want to end up going alone.

"Are you going to the Yule Ball?" Harry asked Hermione.

Hermione looked up from her breakfast and frowned at him. "I don't know if I'm going Harry. I don't have a date and I don't want to go alone."

"We can all go together as friends. This is the last time to have fun together before the holidays," Harry said hopefully.

The look on his face and the way he smiled at her made her sigh. She knew she couldn't find an excuse not to go. He will just drag her along anyway. She smiled at him in return and said, "Alright Harry I'll go, but only because it's before the Holidays."

Harry smiled back at her. The mail finally arrived. An owl swooped down and dropped a letter on Hermione's plate. She picked it up and saw that it was from Professor Dumbledore. She opened the letter and started to read to herself.

 _Dear Ms. Granger,_

 _Good morning Ms. Granger! I hope this letter finds you well. After breakfast please meet me in my office. I need to speak to you about a certain professor of yours. I also need to ask you a favor. The password this week is chocolate frogs. See you soon._

 _From,_

 _Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Harry looked over at Hermione who was still staring at the letter gripped in her hands. "Who was the letter from?"

She looked up from the letter and turned to Harry. "Professor Dumbledore. He wants to talk to me about something after breakfast." She looked back down at the letter and the word professor made her more alert. _Which Professor?_ She looked up at the Great Table and scanned the table. Her eyes met Professor Snape's. She quickly looked away and felt her cheeks burn. _Why does he hate me so much? I've always been a good student, but he always looks at me with distain on his face. What have I ever done to him?_ The rest of breakfast was quiet and Hermione contemplated the possible reasons why Dumbledore wanted to speak with her.

She finally finished her breakfast by taking one last gulp of her pumpkin juice. She told her friends she would see them later and she headed out the doors to Professor Dumbledore's office. She walked down the hallway still confused by this new predicament. Professor Dumbledore never asked her to meet with him. She hoped it wasn't serious. She started feeling nervous and thought of the possible reasons why she might be in trouble. She reached the statue much too quickly for her liking. She said the password and headed up the winding staircase. She knocked on the door and Professor Dumbledore let her in. She walked inside and saw him sitting behind his desk waiting patiently for her. She lowered herself into a big comfy armchair in front of his desk.

Dumbledore greeted her with a kind smile. He said, "Good morning Ms. Granger. I hope your school work is going well."

She smiled at him in return. "Hello Professor. My schoolwork is perfect as ever. Why have you summoned me this morning? Did I do something wrong?"

"Of course not my dear. As the letter said I have asked you to come here because it's about one of your professor's. Please let me explain before you decline my request. The professor I am talking about is Professor Snape."

She looked perplexed at the Professor he named. She didn't understand why she would have to do anything with him. "What about him Headmaster?'

Professor Dumbledore lowered his glasses from his face and a serious look crossed his face. "It seems that the timeline requires you Ms. Granger to go back in time and befriend Professor Snape when he was a 6th year in school."

"What? Why would I need to go back in time? Couldn't this affect our current timeline now?" She was even more confused now than ever. She thought for sure he was joking, but the look on his face let her know that he was not. He was being absolutely serious.

He smiled at her outburst. "Yes Ms. Granger it very well can, but not if it's already been set in place. It's in the prophecy my dear that you are the one who goes back. It is to help us win in the war in the end. You do want to win don't you?"

"Yes sir of course. I would do anything to make sure Harry wins in the end, but I'm not too sure about this sir."

"What's not to be sure of Ms. Granger? All you have to do is go back in time and blend in with the other students. You have to come up with a good story as to why you are new and make friends with Professor Snape. Then when a few months have passed you will be sent back to the present after it's over. The timeline here won't be altered and you will come back as if nothing happen."

"But sir I'm still confused. What exactly is my mission? What is the purpose of me going back in time?"

Professor Dumbledore had a weird twinkle in his eye and Hermione felt uneasy. "Don't you worry about that my dear. Just go along with the other students and you will know when it is time to go back. Remember you have to do this for the greater good."

"If it's for the greater good then I will do it." He handed her a time turner and Hermione put it around her neck.

"Now just turn it once. It's already been ready for you. You will appear in my office. Good luck Ms. Granger and remember to give him a chance. He's not what he seems. Oh and give this letter to my past self. It will explain a little better."

She looked back at him once and she slowly started to turn the time turner. She stopped turning it and she felt the time starting to change. She saw flashes of time go by her. After five minutes have passed it finally stopped spinning. She looked around the office she was still standing in and saw that nothing has changed at all in the 18 years that passed.

Professor Dumbledore turned towards Hermione and said, "I am sorry miss, but I do not believe that we have met. Who are you and how did you get into my office?"

She smiled at him and said, "Hello Professor Dumbledore. My name is Hermione Granger and I have been sent here from the future by you."

He said, "Can you tell me why I would have sent you?"

"I don't think you would want that to happen Professor. It can cause great damage to my future and yours. What I can tell you is that I am going to be here for only a few months and then I have to be sent back."

He stared at her quizzically. He was confused by the whole situation, but stranger things have happened. "I won't stand in your way then."

"Your future self told me to make up a story so here it is. If anyone asks you who I am I think you should tell them that I am Hermione Smith. I am here at this school because my parents got a new job in London and I ended up transferring here."

He stroked his beard in thought and said, "Sounds plausible. So you will stay in Gryffindor House and just blend in with the other students. After the few months you will return to the future is that it?"

She said, "Yes sir. Here is the letter that your future self wrote to you that explains a little more about what is going on. I guess I'll be heading off now and finding my way."

"Good luck Ms. Granger and here is the schedule that most Gryffindor's follow. I hope you find what you are looking for."

Hermione left his office gripping her new schedule feeling slightly confused by her new predicament, but as a true Gryffindor she held her head up high and started on her new mission.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione looked down at her class schedule and saw that her first class was Potions. She knew she was already late, so she quickly quickened her footsteps. She got to the classroom and opened the door heading inside. She closed the door behind her and saw everyone stare at her.

Professor Slughorn looked up from his desk and gave her a soft warm smile. "Hello I don't believe I know you."

"Hi my name is Hermione Smith. I just transferred here. I apologize for being late, but I was talking to the Headmaster."

"Welcome to Hogwarts Ms. Smith. Please take a seat by Mr. Snape. We are doing partner potions and he is without a partner. He is the boy with the dark black hair in the fifth row." He pointed to the table towards the back of the room.

Hermione turned towards the class and walked towards the back of the room. She found the table Professor Slughorn pointed to and she took her seat. She turned towards the boy sitting in the other seat and she saw a dark scowl deeply etched into his face. His hair was down to his shoulders and nearly covered his face. She knew she had to be nice to him even if it was going to be difficult. It was important to have a good first impression if she needed to make friends with him in order for this plan to work.

She decided to introduce herself first. "Hi I'm Hermione." She ended her greeting with a nice big smile, but he ended up ignoring her. He didn't even give her one glance.

The Professor said, "Turn your books to page 255 and begin."

She looked down at her textbook that was laid out in front of her. She opened up her book to the page and turned towards Snape. "So do you want me to prepare the ingredients or stir the potion?"

He stared at her and said, "I don't want you to touch anything."

She glared at him in response. How dare he? "Do you want a zero for the day? I have perfect marks in Potions where I came from. I will not mess up your precious potion. So you will either let me help or get a zero. What is your pick?" Hermione crossed her arms for good measures staring him down.

He stared at her for a few seconds and said, "Fine if you must I will prepare the ingredients and you will just stir. I don't trust you with my ingredients."

She rolled her eyes and sighed. She knew that was the best she was going to get for now. She watched him as he started cutting the ginger root. The book said quarter inch pieces, but he was cutting them in half.

She whispered, "What are you doing? The book clearly states quarter inch not half."

He tossed them into the potion and said, "I know what I'm doing. Just stir when I tell you to."

She gripped her stirring rod tightly. _Pompous ass. This is going to be more difficult than I imagined._

He said, "Stir clockwise three times and once counter-clockwise."

She bit her lip knowing the book said the total opposite, but she followed his directions. The next ingredient was two teaspoons of unicorn blood. She watched him take a tablespoon and dump a whole tablespoon into the potion.

"Why aren't you following the directions? Are you purposely sabotaging us?"

He ignored her question and said, "Stir the potion four times clockwise." She stirred the potion and saw it turn a nice dark purple. "Good only a few more ingredients to go and then we are done. Then you can stop being my partner."

She stared at him feeling strangely hurt by his comment. "Why are you being so mean to me? I didn't even do anything to you. You don't even know me."

"I know your kind. You're a Gryffindor. You think you are so brave that you won't get in trouble even if it causes other people problems."

"That is so not fair. How would you like it if I said all Slytherin's are egotistical narcissists that think they are better than everyone else and hate muggleborns. I thought you were better than that Severus."

He seethed, "Don't talk to me like you know me girl because you don't."

"I can say the same thing for you. You jump to conclusions based on what house I am in."

"Just finish the damn potion please."

She said forcefully, "Not until I get an apology."

He stared her down and Hermione stared back at him not giving up. He looked away after a few minutes and said, "Fine I'm sorry. Now can we finish the damn potion?"

"Yes what's next?" They finally finished the potion ten minutes before anyone else. Hermione sat back quietly. To keep herself busy she started to look around the room. Her eye caught a group of Gryffindor's sitting directly across from them. She saw flaming red hair and instantly realized who she was going to school with. _Oh my god. I'm at Hogwarts when Harry's parents were here._ Her eyes travelled back to her partner's face. _I have to befriend him for two months. Maybe it won't be so difficult after all._

He caught her staring at him and said, "Why are you staring at me?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to be friends."

"Friends with me? Why would you want to be friends with me?" He felt like it was a joke. No one ever wanted to be friends with him.

"Well I just got here and I don't have any friends. I thought maybe since you are my partner in potions that we can be friends instead of being angry at each other."

"I don't have many friends. Are you sure you want to be seen hanging around with me? Gryffindor's aren't usually seen with Slytherin's. It might cause a problem within your House."

"I don't care what people think of me Severus and you shouldn't either."

He stared at her for a few seconds and succumbed to her wishes. "If you really want to then yes we can be friends. Don't expect me to want to hang out with you though. I don't do that with other people."

"Well I guess it's a start."

Professor Slughorn released the students from the room and Hermione and Severus headed out of the Potion's classroom.

She took out her schedule and saw that the next class they were heading to was Defense Against the Dark Arts. She remembered that she was supposed to act like she was new. She wasn't supposed to know where the classrooms were. She turned towards Severus and said, "Can you take me there? I'm new."

"Very well follow me." They were heading to their next class when they heard people behind them start calling her name. Hermione stopped and turned to see who it was. It was the group of Gryffindor's that she saw in Potion's.

A boy with very curly hair that met his shoulders was the first to speak. "Hermione, why are you walking with Snivellus? I know you are new but you don't have to be seen with the likes of him."

She clutched her wand in response. "His name is Severus and I like walking with him."

The boy next to him with nice brown hair and glasses was the second one to speak. "I would be careful around him."

"I can watch out for myself thanks." She grabbed Severus's hand and said, "Let's go." They walked away from them as fast as she could.

Severus stared at her as they walked and said, "Are you going to keep holding my hand?" She quickly looked down at their hands and blushed.

She let go of his hand and said, "Sorry."

"You didn't have to do that back there you know. I can take care of myself."

"How long Severus?"

"How long what?"

"How long have you've been bullied by them?"

"I just said I can take care of myself," he said angrily. He didn't need a girl to defend him

She needed to know. "How long Severus?"

"Since first year," he said quietly with shame. He was embarrassed by admitting that aloud to her. He was strong and he knew how to fight them off if needed. He didn't need her pity.

"They are mean and I won't let them talk bad about you. I meant it when I said I wanted to be your friend."

Her words perked him up a little bit. That was the first time someone stood up for him that wasn't in his House or had ulterior motives. He gave her a small smile.

That was the first time she ever saw him even move his lips upward. _Why doesn't he ever smile?_ They reached the door to their next class and they headed inside. Again Hermione was forced to introduce herself to the Professor.

Professor Greenwood said, "Most of our students already have a partner Ms. Smith, but there is still one student that does not. You will be paired up with Mr. Snape."

"Yes Ma'am." She smiled at Severus happy that they were partners again.

"Today we will be practicing dueling with another. I hope you all remember what to do when you are in a duel. You bow to one another to show respect and then you cast. We are only using harmless spells. Nothing drastic. You may begin with your partner."

Hermione looked at her partner and took out her wand. She bowed to him and he bowed back.

"Are you ready, Hermione? I have to warn you I am a master at spell casting."

She rolled her eyes and said, "Yes I'm ready."

Severus was the first to cast. He casted a simple expelliarmus towards Hermione. She quickly casted back protego. He blocked it with ease. She casted locomotor mortis. He quickly side stepped it and casted back incarcerous. She wasn't prepared for that and she ended up tied up on the floor. He casted the counter curse and sent her a small smile in glee. She stood back up in anger and casted flipendo. He again was quick to cast protego against the spell. The spell was sent back to her and she tried to block it. She was not quick enough and was sent back. She landed on her bottom hard. He walked over to her and helped her back up.

"Want to try again?"

She shook her head in disbelief. "Why are you so good at this?"

He said stoically, "I get loads of practice from the Gryffindor's outside of class."

She frowned. "Oh Severus I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault. It's just the way it is."

Hermione looked over at the other groups and watched James Potter fighting with Sirius Black. James was easily winning against Sirius. She looked at the next group and saw Lily Evans fighting with Remus Lupin. Lily was winning against Remus. "And they all bully you?"

"Mostly Potter and Black. Pettigrew is like a hype man. He never attacks. He's a cheerleader for them. Lupin tries to be the mediator, but it never works and he ends up joining in anyways."

"What about the girl?"

He hesitated and said quietly, "Lily hates it, but she will always defend Potter." She heard the jealousy in his voice. She would ask him later what happen to between them.


	3. Chapter 3

Later that day Severus escorted Hermione to the Great Hall for dinner.

"So what do you think of Hogwarts Hermione?"

"It's a great school. I'm glad that I transferred here," she replied with a small smile.

He smiled slightly back at her. "I do too." They walked into the Great Hall. "Well I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Thank you for showing me around the school." They parted ways. He went to the Slytherin table and Hermione went to the Gryffindor table. She took a seat next to Lily. She started to add some potatoes on her plate.

"So what do you see in Snivellus?" Sirius asked angrily.

"He helped me around the school and I don't see how that is any of your business."

James said, "We know that you are knew here Hermione, but that doesn't mean you have to befriend someone like him."

"What is wrong with him?" She asked defensively.

Sirius said, "What isn't? He's a Slytherin."

"So what?"

"He hates muggleborns," Sirius replied.

"Based on what exactly?"

"Just ask Lily what happen to her," James added.

She looked at Lily and said, "What is he talking about?"

"James and Sirius one day confronted Snape and when I tried to defend him he called me a mudblood. Ever since then I stopped hanging around with him. I suggest you do the same."

Hermione looked over at the Slytherin table and saw him talking to two boys sitting next to him. She looked back at Lily and said, "That doesn't sound like him."

"Well it happen and I never forgave him."

"Has he tried to make amends?"

"I wouldn't let him. He showed his true colors that day and I moved on."

"Do you not care that he called her that?" Sirius asked.

"I do but I want to hear his side as well. There are two sides to every story."

Sirius snarled, "Why do you keep defending him? He's a leech. He doesn't deserve your friendship."

She glared at him. "Neither do you. I don't need your protection. You don't even know me."

"What I do know is that you are making a terrible mistake," he replied evenly.

"I can figure that out by myself Sirius. I don't need you two to attack him like you have been for 4 years. Leave him alone. You guys have bullied him enough and I'm tired of it. Grow up." She stood up and left the Great Hall. Severus caught her leaving and quickly followed her out.

He caught up to her and said, "Hey what happen back there?"

She turned to him and said, "Is it true that you called Lily a mudblood?"

"Hermione."

"Tell me Severus and I want to know the truth."

He said, "Yes, but you have to hear me out. I never meant what I said."

"Tell me why then."

He looked around the empty hallway nervously. "Not in the middle of the hallway. Come on." He grabbed her hand and brought her to the library. They walked inside and went to a secluded corner. He sat down across from her and said, "I was friends with Lily ever since I was ten. I met her before we went to school together and we talked every day. When we came to school she was sorted into Gryffindor and I was sorted into Slytherin. We didn't hang out as much as we used to, but she would still find time to hang out with me. One day we were outside on the grounds when it happen. I was talking to Lily like I always do when the four Gryffindor's approached me with their wands drawn. They attacked me because I wanted to be with Lily and Potter had a crush on her. They think I'm not worthy of being her friend. Potter started to cast on me and I was hanging upside down in front of all of them." He blushed deeply and continued with, "He made my pants fall down and everyone saw my underwear. They all laughed at me. The only one who defended me was Lily and I ended up yelling at her and calling her a mean name because I was embarrassed. She told me to never talk to her again and she left with Potter. The next day I tried to approach her and apologize, but she won't forgive me. She now is dating bloody stupid Potter even after what he did to me. I regret what I said right after I said it. I never meant any of it but she won't believe me. After six years of friendship one stupid word ruined it all."

Hermione said with great remorse, "Oh Severus I'm sorry that happen to you."

"You still want to be my friend?" He asked hopefully.

"Of course. We all make mistakes Severus and say things we don't mean."

He smiled at her. "Thank you for giving me that chance to be your friend. No one else wants to be my friend except for the two boys you saw me talking to."

"Who are they if you don't mind me asking?"

"Their names are Regulus Black and Rodolphus Lestrange." She took a deep breath knowing where that will end up. "They are the only friends I have in this school Hermione besides you."

"Are they good friends?"

"Regulus always defends me when it comes to his brother bullying me and he's a good student. Rodolphus on the other hand is a powerful wizard. I like hanging around him because I feel like if I hang around him no one will mess with me."

She said carefully, "Are you sure those are the kind of people you want to hang around with?"

"Why do you ask that?" He said confused.

"They don't look like good people to have around."

"Why?"

"They have a bad influence on you and the whole blood superiority thing."

"You know I don't believe in that Hermione." She sighed and didn't say anything else. "Why does it bother you so much who I am friends with?"

"It's because I am in fact a muggleborn Severus. That's why it bothers me. I don't want your friends to see me hanging out with you and then see me as a target because of it."

"They won't see you as a target. I won't let them bother you. They don't control how I feel Hermione or what I think."

She slowly relented. "Okay I believe you."

"Do you want me to walk you back to Gryffindor Tower?"

She smiled at him and said, "It's early. We still got an hour before curfew."

"What do you want to do then?" He was surprised that she still wanted to hang out with him.

"Well we only just met this morning. I want to get to know you."

"Alright what do you want to know?"

"What is your favorite class here at Hogwarts?"

"Potions of course. I love Potions and I learned over the years how to alter them slightly to make them quicker, but also still just as potent."

"Potions is nice. I always liked Potions as well, but I think my favorite class is transfiguration."

"Next question. What is your favorite color?" He asked.

She laughed and said, "Such a common question. My favorite color is blue like the sky."

"My favorite color is also blue, but more of a dark blue. Everyone thinks my favorite color is black or the colors of my house."

"Next question. What job do you hope to have once you graduate Hogwarts?"

"I don't know what the future holds for me," he said quietly in response.

She grabbed his hand and said, "I have faith in you Severus. I know you will find something one day. I want to be a teacher one day."

"I don't know what I want to do. I don't see a job out there for me."

"You can always make potions for a living."

"Maybe but I don't know."

"Let's move on to another topic. What do your parents do?"

"I don't want to talk about my parents."

She watched as he slowly became closed off by that question. "Why?"

"I hate my parents. I hate how every summer I have to go back to them."

"Why do you hate your parents? Severus please you can trust me."

He debated on whether or not to tell her. He looked at her face and saw her waiting patiently for him. "My mother is a witch and my father is a muggle. He hates my mother and me because we can do magic. He's a drunk and very abusive to both of us. My mother isn't strong enough to leave him though. I have been beat up my whole life from him and I can honestly say I don't care what happens to him."

She walked over to his side of the table and hugged him. "I'm sorry Severus. You don't deserve to have parents like that."

He hugged her back and said, "What about your parents?"

She pulled away from his embrace. "Well you know that I am a muggleborn so they have normal jobs. They both are dentists and take care of teeth."

"They must have been shocked when they found out their daughter was a witch."

"They didn't want to believe it, but it was hard to deny it after seeing so many accidental magic happen. They learned to accept me as a witch in the end, which I'm very grateful for."

"So what school did you come from then?"

 _Crap what school do I say? There aren't many schools in Europe. Only other school there is is Beauxbaton around here._ "I went to Beauxbaton Academy in France."

"Why did you transfer here?"

"My parents got better jobs in London and it was easier to take the train to Hogwarts now that we live there. Now we should probably get going. We only have 20 minutes until curfew."

He laughed and said, "You're such a goody two shoes. What are you afraid you are going to get caught out of bed?"

"Well it is my first day here. I don't want to get in trouble."

Severus got out of his chair and said, "Fine I will walk you back. Let us go." They left the library and headed down the hallway.

She commented, "I wish you were a Gryffindor so we can talk more."

He made a face. "Me a Gryffindor? No way!"

She laughed and said, "There are good qualities in being a Gryffindor."

"Maybe you should have been sorted into Slytherin."

She said sadly, "Not with my bloodline."

"Damn it I forgot. Well I guess you're right. There hasn't been a muggleborn in Slytherin house in years and it probably won't happen." They reached the Fat Lady painting.

Hermione turned and smiled at Severus. "Thank you for walking me," she said shyly.

"I will see you tomorrow then in the Great Hall?"

She smiled at him and said, "Of course. Goodnight Severus."

He said, "Goodnight Hermione." She walked inside and Severus walked back to his dormitories with a smile on his face.


	4. Chapter 4

When Hermione entered the common room she saw Sirius, James, Remus, and Lily hanging out together. Remus was the first one to notice her.

He approached her and said, "I apologize for my friends' behavior. Hi I'm Remus. Welcome to Hogwarts." He took out his hand for her to shake.

She shook his hand and said, "Hi I'm Hermione." Sirius and James ignored her, but Lily ended up coming over to them too.

Lily said, "Hi I'm Lily. I apologize for how things went down in the Great Hall. I would like to welcome you to Hogwarts."

She smiled at her. "Hi Lily. I'm Hermione."

"How do you like Hogwarts so far?" Remus asked.

"It's great. I love the school. It's so magical and the paintings are amazing. The teachers are all very nice as well."

"Listen if you want to hang out with Severus I won't bother you about it anymore," Lily said.

"I still think you should give him another chance Lily. He really is apologetic for what he did."

She shook her head in denial. "Why? Do you see the two supposed friends he hangs out with? They are evil and he shouldn't be around them."

"Those are the only two friends he has Lily. He didn't mean what he said. You two have been friends for 6 years and you let one stupid word ruin it."

"It is more than just a word Hermione. You and I both know what it means."

She said, "Can't you see it from his point of view? He was bullied in front of a lot of students and the only one that would actually help him was a girl. He was embarrassed and angry and unfortunately he said the word that cost him the only friend he really liked. How would you feel if you only had one friend and the one friend you had never talked to you again?"

Lily hesitated and said, "I don't know."

She said, "Well just think about it. Severus would really like to have his friend back."

Sirius scowled at Hermione and said, "What do you see in him? Even after finding out what he called Lily you still defend him."

She turned to him and said, "Severus showed me kindness and he's a good guy once you get to know him. You guys bullied the poor boy so bad he lost his only true friend. I hope you are happy with yourself because I don't want to be friends with either one of you. Lily, will you tell me where I will be sleeping?"

"Yeah it's just right up those stairs and the first door to the left. Your bed is the fourth one in the corner of the room."

"Thank you. Goodnight." She headed up the stairs needing to get away from them.

The next morning arrived and Hermione woke up bright and early. She almost forgot where she was, but then she remembered the plan that was in place. She got out of bed tiredly and headed into the shower. When she was finished in the shower she put on her school uniform and grabbed her bag. She headed down the stairs and entered the common room. The marauders were awake already, including Lily.

Lily said, "Good morning Hermione. James and Sirius have something to say to you."

James was the first one to stand up from the couch and approach her. Sirius begrudgingly followed him. "I apologize Hermione. We were just trying to protect you. We didn't mean to come off as jerks."

Sirius said, "Yeah Hermione. We care about you. Will you forgive us?"

"Will you stop bullying Severus?" she asked staring at them doubtfully. James and Sirius hesitated. "I will not forgive you or talk to you until you promise to leave Severus alone. He didn't warrant the attacks you guys have constantly done to him. I will not stand aside and allow you to continue bullying him. So you have two choices. Promise me you won't bully him or I will not be your friend and if I see you bully him I will hex both your bollocks off. So what will it be?"

James and Sirius both looked at each other and back at Hermione. James said, "We promise we won't bully Snivellus I mean Snape anymore. Right Sirius?"

"Yeah Hermione we promise okay?" Sirius said with an annoyed look on his face.

"I will hold you to that promise."

Peter entered the common room and said, "Hey guys I'm starving. Let's go to breakfast."

Hermione felt for her wand seeing that rat's face. She realized before she whipped it out of her pocket that she couldn't hex him no matter how much she wanted to. At this point in time he was only a boy and seen as a friend. She calmed herself and said cheerily, "Yeah lets go." The 6 of them headed down to the Great Hall. James and Lily were walking hand in hand, Lupin was talking to Peter animatedly about a new book he read, and Sirius was trying to hit on Hermione.

"So Hermione I happen to be a great wizard and a great wizard needs a great witch by his side." He slithered an arm around her waist and said, "So what do you say to me and you going out on a date?"

She shrugged his arm off of her and said, "No thank you."

"Oh come on. Why not? I am handsome and I think we can work out well together."

"Weren't you just kissing Mildred Macaw yesterday outside Charms class?"

"Maybe but it was only a fling. We're not serious."

"And you think I want to be with someone that has a trail of girls after him and sees them as flings?"

"But we can be different. You are different then the other girls."

She rolled her eyes. "Very original, Sirius. I am sorry, but I don't see you that way."

"You will come to fall for my charms Hermione. I know it."

Hermione rolled her eyes and ignored him. They finally reached the Great Hall. While they got there Severus just got there as well. She smiled at him and said, "Good morning, Severus."

Severus looked at the Marauders and simply nodded at her and entered the Great Hall. She knew Severus would probably never feel comfortable talking around the Marauders after the years of abuse from them. He still hated them and James and Sirius still hated him. Even in the present time Sirius and Professor Snape hate each other and see each other as the enemy.

They entered the Great Hall and sat at the Gryffindor Table. Hermione ended up facing Severus and couldn't help but smile at him every time his eyes met hers. She knew it was wrong, but she was falling for Severus. He was handsome, smart, mysterious, and something about him sparked her interest. She never felt like this about Ron or even Viktor Krum. She knew that when she went back to the present that he would be a different man and would be her teacher, but she couldn't stop the attraction she felt for him. After breakfast she met up with him and together they walked to Potions.

Severus said hesitantly, "So um you befriended the Gryffindors?"

"Yes after they promised me that they wouldn't bully you anymore."

"You did that for me?" He asked surprised.

She smiled at him and said, "Of course. I wasn't going to be friends with people that bullied one of my best friends."

"You really consider me one of your best friends?"

"Well you were the first one to accept being my friend here so yes I do. You could have just ignored me and went back to your rooms, but you accepted my friendship. You didn't want me to be friendless in this school and I thank you for that."

He smiled shyly at her and said, "You were the one who wanted to be my friend even after knowing about my past and me being a Slytherin."

"I don't judge people by what people say about them. I judge them by how they actually act and Severus I think you are actually nice when you want to be. You showed me kindness and we work well together in class. I want to stay being your friend."

He smiled again at her. "I want to stay being your friend too." They walked into Potions and went to their seats.

"Do you play Quidditch?" She asked him curiously.

He laughed and said, "Me? Do you see me being on a Quidditch team?"

"Well I guess not. Figured I'd ask since you know James and Sirius play Quidditch on their team."

"I'm not really a fan of Quidditch, but I do go and watch some of the matches when Slytherin plays. It's something to do instead of studying and honestly hanging out with Regulus and Rodolphus gets tiring, which I'm glad I now have you."

Professor Slughorn entered the classroom and class began. "Good morning students. Today instead of making a potion I will be handing out a project scroll and you and your partner will choose one of the six options to do for your month long project." With a flick of his wand a scroll appeared on everyone's table. Hermione and Severus looked down at the scroll and read through their options. Hermione really wanted to do option number 3.

"What do you think of our choices Severus?"

"They all sound so simple, but I think we should do number 6 because it's an actual challenge."

She pouted and said, "I wanted to do number 3."

"Oh come on Polyjuice potion is so simple to break apart. Elixir of death requires us to actually research each part of the potion to determine why it is so powerful and the affects of each ingredient."

She sighed and said, "I guess you're right. We'll do number 6. So what should we do first?"

"Let's make a list of all of the ingredients that are involved." Severus took out his book and Hermione took out her quill and a piece of parchment. Elixir of Death required 9 ingredients compared to the average of 6 ingredients.

She wrote down each ingredient and said, "That's a lot of ingredients to research."

"I think with the two of us we could do it. Felix luck actually requires the most at 11 ingredients. It's a hard potion to make and not everyone can make a perfect one at that."

She finished writing each one and said, "Now what?"

"Now we research each ingredient and write about each one. Then we sum it up with which one we find to be the most effective one that causes the potion to have that affect. It will probably take a while if we did each one together so I'll take half of them and you'll take half. So you will do the first four and I will do the last five and together we will share what we have found and write one big essay together. Sounds like a plan?"

She smiled at him and said, "Sounds like a plan." Professor Slughorn dismissed the class early to start on their projects. Hermione and Severus quickly headed to the library together. They found "their" table in the secluded corner and got to work. They worked together in a comfortable silence until it was time to head to their next class. Together they packed up their stuff and headed out of the library together.


	5. Chapter 5

It was Saturday morning and there were no classes to go to. Hermione Granger was in the Great Hall finishing her breakfast. She had no plans today so she was surprised, but happy when Severus approached her.

He smiled at her and said, "Good morning Hermione."

She smiled back at him and said, "Good morning Severus."

He rubbed the back of his neck and said shyly, "There's a Quidditch game today. It's Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. Would you like to go to the game with me?"

"Of course Severus when does it start?"

"In about an hour," he answered. "Do you want to head to the stands now?"

"Sure let's go." Together the two of them walked outside of the castle and to the Quidditch pitch. They went into the stands and found a seat together. "Hey to make things more fun how about we bet on the game. If my team wins you have to hang out with the Marauders and me all day."

He cringed slightly at the thought of hanging with the Marauders, but it did sound interesting. "Okay. If Slytherin wins you have to kiss me." She blushed at his words and she looked down at her lap.

She said, "Really? I don't know."

"Yeah why not. It's for fun and it is just a bet. You are a Gryffindor aren't you?" He teased.

She looked up at him with determination on her face. "Fine if you win I will kiss you."

The other students started to pack into the stands and the two teams were out on the field. The coach for the Quidditch game came out in the middle of the field and blew her whistle for the game to begin. As time went on the Gryffindor's were slowly easing ahead. They were leading by 20 points to 0.

Severus growled in anger, "Come on chasers get the ball."

Hermione laughed beside him amused by his anger. "Looks like Gryffindor is kicking Slytherin's butt."

He grumbled, "Not for long."

The game continued with James grabbing the Quaffle and scoring another 10 points for Gryffindor. She shouted, "Go James!" Severus rolled his eyes at her outburst. "Well you can't deny he is a good Quidditch player," she said in defense. _That's where Harry must get it from._

He mumbled hesitantly, "I guess."

The game continued for another 30 minutes with the score being 60 points for Gryffindor and 20 points for Slytherin. Hermione saw the Slytherin seeker started to chase after the snitch. Gryffindor's seeker quickly followed the other seeker. Unfortunately the Slytherin seeker was quicker and was able to reach out and catch it in his fist. The announcer shouted "Slytherin has caught the snitch! That gives Slytherin 170 points to 60. Slytherin wins!"

Severus pumped his fist in the air and said, "Slytherin wins."

She pouted and said, "We were so close."

He laughed and said, "Better luck next game. So I won. When do I get my…" He was cut off by Hermione pressing her lips on his. He kissed her back. The kiss went on for a few minutes before Hermione pulled away to breathe.

He licked his lips and said, "Well that was interesting."

She blushed and said, "Satisfied?"

"No. I want more kisses," he admitted.

"You got to wait until the next game then," she said with a laugh.

He pouted and said, "Really? That's too long to wait."

"Well you could you know ask me out on a date and maybe you will get another kiss."

He smiled at her and said, "So Hermione what do you say to coming to Hogsmede with me?"

"I'd love to go with you." They left the stands and started to walk to Hogsmede. They both were grinning from ear to ear. "So where to first, Severus?"

"Let's get a butter beer at The Three Broomsticks," he answered. They walked inside and sat at a table in the corner. They each ordered a butter beer.

"So Severus was the bet just a trick to tell me that you liked me?"

He looked down at his mug in shyness and said, "Yes. I know how lame of me."

She reached out and gripped his hand. "It was sweet actually. I like you too."

He looked up at her in shock. "Really? You like me?"

She said, "Yes. I like how smart you are and how kind you have been to me. I also think you are kind of adorable."

He blushed hard at her words. He never heard anyone refer to him as adorable. "Oh well thank you Hermione. I think you are um… yeah you're smart too," he said lamely with his cheeks still red. She leaned in and kissed him again. This time Severus broke them apart and said, "So what are we?"

She smiled and said, "I guess you are my boyfriend."

He smiled back at her and said, "And you are my girlfriend." They stared into each other's eyes both with grins on their faces. "You are my first ever girlfriend," he admitted.

She said, "Really?"

"Is that surprising to you? I mean have you seen me at school. I'm not really as people say a chick magnet."

"Well this is our last year at Hogwarts and you are young and a teenager and I think you are attractive. You might not see it that way, but you are."

"Besides Lily I haven't met anyone else that I liked before. No girl in my house will even look at me let alone talk to me and since I am in Slytherin no girl outside my house talks to me either. What about you then?"

"I had two in the past. My first boyfriend I had when I was 14. It wasn't really serious. We went to a dance together and we shared a few kisses, but nothing went further than that. Then I tried dating my best friend in school, but we agreed that we just weren't meant to be." They finished their butter beers and walked around Hogsmede for the rest of the day holding hands. When the sun started to set they both agreed it was time to walk back to the castle. They were talking about school when they were approached by Severus's friends Regulus Black and Rodolphus Lestrange.

Rodolphus was the first to speak out of the two of them. He said with a sneer, "Hey Severus why you walking around Hogsmede with the Gryffindor mudblood?" Without thinking Hermione pulled out her wand and pointed it at him.

She spat at him, "Say it again. I dare you."

Severus glared at Rodolphus and said, "She's my girlfriend and don't you call her that. She's more than that."

He rolled his eyes and said, "You know you will be joining with us over the summer. You have your fun now, but come summer dump her."

Severus crossed his arms and said, "I changed my mind. I won't do it."

Rodolphus's eyes flashed with anger and he gritted his teeth. "You have to. I already talked to my dad about it and he knows you will be joining. Come on man you know the cause. We have to end the mudbloods. Remember what happen between you and the ginger mud-" He didn't get to finish because Hermione casted a stinging hex. Rodolphus glared at her and took out his wand.

He shouted at her, "You filthy little mudblood. You'll pay for that. Regulus help me." Regulus took out his wand and pointed it at her. Severus stepped in between them and took out his wand.

Severus spat at both of them, "Leave me and my girlfriend alone or you will regret it. You know how good I am with a wand."

Regulus said, "You choose her over us? We were there for you since day one. Even when my brother was bullying you I stood by you and defended you. Now you are pushing us aside because of her? You can find a girl in our house. You don't need her."

Severus sneered and said, "I am not dating her for sex Regulus. I am dating her because I like her. Now back off or I will hurt you." Unfortunately neither of the two was backing down. Hermione was the first one to cast.

She shouted at Regulus, "Flipendo."

Severus shouted at Rodolphus "Locomotor Wiggly." Regulus flipped back on his arse and Rodolphus fell forward with his legs being stuck together.

Regulus was the first one to get back up and shouted at Hermione, "Sectumsempra."

Hermione blocked it and shouted at him, "That's illegal and dark magic."

Regulus sneered at her and said, "I'm a Slytherin we don't play nice."

Hermione said, "That's enough talking." She casted langlock on Regulus causing his tongue to stick to the roof of his mouth. Severus side stepped a nasty curse that was thrown from Rodolphus. Hermione quickly casted a freezing charm on both of them and grabbed Severus's hand. She said, "I'm going to apparate us to the gate of the castle." Before Severus can question her she apparated them out of Hogsmede and right in front of the gate.

Severus said, "I didn't know you had your license to apparate."

She said, "Yes I took it early. Now let's get back into the castle before they find us." They walked quickly through the grounds and back into the castle. They made it back just in time for dinner. They walked into the Great Hall still holding hands.

Before they parted Hermione smiled at Severus and said, "Thank you for sticking up for me back there. I'm sorry you lost your friends in the process."

He smiled at her and said, "I had to. You are my girlfriend and they were calling you disgusting names. I will fight them again if I have to. I like you Hermione." She leaned in and kissed him.

She said, "I will see you tomorrow then. Stay safe Severus. I don't want them to attack you again."

He said, "I will be fine Hermione. I promise. I will see you tomorrow." They quickly kissed goodbye and headed to their separate tables.


	6. Chapter 6

Again I would like to thank all the people who have followed and favorited my story. Thank you to the ones who left a review. Now on to the next chapter. This one we run into Bellatrix.

Hermione sat down next to Remus.

She smiled at them and said, "Hey guys. How was your Saturday?"

Sirius glared at her and said, "Why were you holding hands and kissing Sniv- I mean Snape?"

She said, "Because I like him and we are dating."

Sirius slithered his arm around her and said, "What about me kitten?"

She shrugged his arm off her and said, "I already told you. I only see you as a friend and that's it."

Sirius said, "But he's ugly."

James chimed in, "And bat like."

Sirius continued with, "And dangerous."

James finished it off with, "And a Slytherin."

She glared at them and said, "Leave Severus alone and I find him attractive. He's not even dangerous or bat like and not all Slytherin's are bad."

Remus said, "She can make her own choices guys. Stop harassing her."

Hermione smiled at Remus and said, "Thank you Remus."

Sirius said, "We are just trying to protect her. You don't know what he'll do to her. What if he's just using her Remus?"

Hermione said, "I know you are trying to protect me, but I promise you that I don't need your protection and Severus is nice. He won't do any harm to me and if he does I will let you kick his arse, but for now just leave us be."

Sirius sighed and said, "Fine kitten, but I'll be waiting for you." She ignored his comment and continued to eat her dinner.

Lily broke the awkward silence by asking Hermione, "So what did you do after the game?"

Hermione said, "Severus and I went to Hogsmede and had a butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks. That's when we admitted our feelings for each other so the rest of the day we hanged out in Hogsmede. We went to ever store and talked the whole day." The rest of dinner went on as normal. Towards the end of dinner the doors to the Great Hall opened and Regulus and Rodolphus walked in. Hermione growled, "Jerks."

Sirius said, "I know my brother is mean and a Slytherin, but what has he done?"

Hermione said, "They attacked us in Hogsmede. It actually got pretty heated. Wands were drawn and we were all attacking. Nasty names came out towards me and it was Severus and I vs. them. In the end though Severus and I made it out fine. Severus ended up standing up for me and defended me."

Remus said, "Were you okay?"

Hermione said, "Yeah I'm fine. I'm good with a wand and I defended myself when I needed to."

Sirius said, "How did it start?"

She said, "We were walking back to the castle when they approached us. They didn't like that we were dating and of course Rodolphus called me a mudblood. Severus defended me and things got pretty bad. Wands were drawn and spells were cast. A lot of dark magic from Rodolphus and Regulus too. I ended up casting the final spell and we ended up escaping together."

Sirius stood up and growled, "I'm going to kill my brother."

Hermione pulled him back down and said, "I can handle it on my own. Leave it alone. You don't need to get yourself in trouble." Hermione watched the two sit at the end of the table away from Severus. Hermione found Severus's eyes and gave him a reassuring smile knowing that he was sitting alone. He smiled back at her. They finished up their breakfast and the 5 of them walked to their first class together, which was Potions. They walked inside the classroom and Hermione instantly gravitated towards Severus's empty chair next to his. She waved goodbye to her four friends and sat down next to Severus.

She smiled at Severus next to her and said, "Good morning."

He smiled back at her and said, "Good morning Hermione." He leaned in and pecked her on the lips. Hermione saw Sirius glaring at them from his seat only two tables away.

She rolled her eyes and said, "He is never going to let it go."

Severus said, "Who Black?"

She said, "Yes. They weren't exactly happy when I told them that we are dating, but Remus actually defended us well more so me, but still. Of course Lily was quiet. She never takes sides she's always the mediator."

He said, "Well I don't care what anyone thinks. Do you?"

She smiled at him and said, "Of course not Severus. I like you and that is all that matters. I was your friend before them and I will keep being here for you no matter what." She squeezed his hand under the table. Professor Slughorn entered the classroom and Potion's began to start. They worked together through the period side by side in comfortable silence. They each created the perfect potion in record time.

Severus looked at Hermione and said, "You're Potion's teacher back in France must've been very good to teach you how to cut up ingredients and stir like that."

She giggled slightly and said, "He is the best. His whole life was all about Potions. It is an exact art and he was an expert on everything. He even created his own Potions and he had his own way of replicating Potions."

He said, "You sound amazed by his work."

She said, "He is possibly the greatest Potions Master that ever lived."

He said, "What was he like as a Professor?"

She frowned and said, "He was mean, rude, callous, and didn't seem to like anyone. He secluded himself from others and when he taught there was no argument. Everyone worked quietly in his class and he was quick to deduct points from us if we acted out of turn. He never liked me or my friends, but he always seemed to have something against me. He always called me a know-it-all and nasty names. He was prejudiced against people who weren't in his own house and gave out nasty detentions."

He said, "He sounds like a jerk."

Her lips quirked up and said, "Yeah well he was under a lot of pressure in his life and took it out on us. Even with him teaching that was still my favorite class."

He said, "Why would that be your favorite class with a teacher like him?"

She smiled and said, "I love Potions. I am very good at it and it doesn't matter how he is in the classroom. I have learned over the years that if I keep my mouth shut and my head down he will ignore me. I don't need recognition from him. I know how good I am at it and that will never change."

He said, "I wish you were in Slytherin House."

She sighed and said, "You know it's not very well possible for me to be in Slytherin house. I am still muggleborn."

He said, "I know but it would be nice for you to come back to the common room and just hang out. I miss you when we aren't in class together."

She smiled at him and said, "I miss you too." Potions ended and they both left the classroom together. As they were walking Bellatrix Black approached them.

Bellatrix Black still had her long black hair along with her crooked wand. She had a evil grin upon her face. Hermione can tell that even at just 17 years old she was crazy and can cause a lot of trouble.

Severus glared at her and said, "What do you want Bella? I'm not doing any more homework for you no matter how much you pay me."

Bellatrix looked at Hermione quizzically. She stared her down and said, "Why are you hanging out with a Gryffindor?"

Severus said, "She is my girlfriend."

Bellatrix laughed and said, "Not another one Sevvie. Didn't you learn your lesson when you tried to date the Gryffindor mudblood?" Hermione's wand hand twitched but she held herself back.

He glared at her and said, "Don't you call Lily that."

Bellatrix glared at Hermione and said, "Is she a mudblood too?" Without thinking Hermione let go of Severus's hand and she got into her face.

She said, "So what if I am? I am better at a wand then you." Bellatrix took out her wand too.

She spat at her, "You take that back you mudblood cow."

Severus got in between them and said, "Stop it! Bellatrix mind your own business. I love her and I don't care about her blood. That doesn't make her any less of witch than you."

She sneered at him and said, "You will see one day Severus Snape. You won't hear the end of this. Mudblood's don't belong in our world. Soon they will cease to exist and I hope Severus that you are on the right side." She stomped away from them.

Hermione started shaking slightly. Severus gripped Hermione's hands and said, "What's wrong Hermione?"

Hermione said, "Nothing I'm just upset. It seems like I can't catch a break around here. First it was fighting with people in my own house, then just a few days ago with your friends and now with her. I didn't come to this school to be attacked or hated."

He hugged her tightly and said, "Don't worry about them Hermione. You're my friend and even though you fought with the Gryffindors I am sure they love you too just like I do. Don't let the others bring you down. They are just jealous and want to spread hate. All that matters Hermione is the people who you surround yourself with."

She smiled at him with tears glistening in her eyes. She said, "You know just what to say to make me feel better. I am so glad that I met you here at Hogwarts."

He said, "I am glad I met you too. Now let us go to our next class before we are late."


	7. Chapter 7

Even though Hermione was going to be going back to her time she still took her work seriously. She never missed a chance to do homework or read up on her textbooks. Lucky for her Severus was the same way. They found the perfect schedule working together. They spent a lot of time in the library together working on homework. Hermione also found times to hang out with her friends in her house. The students in Severus's house have ended up leaving them alone and Hermione's friends have learned to accept it. They weren't exactly happy with it, but they knew that Hermione wouldn't be friends with them if they kept bugging her. Severus never ended up hanging with her friends and always stayed away, but today they were all expected to hang out and head to Hogsmeade this time as a group. Hermione was hoping that they all can get along and be friends, but she also knew being friends was not realistic. She just wanted them to be amicable. Hermione and her friends waited outside the Great Hall for Severus

Sirius looked at Hermione and said, "Are you sure you want him to come kitten? Wouldn't it be better with just us 5?"

Hermione crossed her arms and said, "No Sirius. I want him to come. I am not choosing between my boyfriend and my friends. If you can't be nice to him then maybe you should just stay here."

Sirius put his hands up and said, "Alright Hermione I was just saying."

James said, "Yeah Hermione it might be kind of weird of him to tag along."

Lily glared at them and said, "Knock it off you two. I think it's nice that Severus is coming along for once."

Hermione smiled at Lily and said, "Thanks for saying that. It took a lot of convincing for Severus to come with us. I promised him that you two will not bully him or try to do anything stupid. I will make sure you two keep that promise or I will use my wand against you and you don't want that to happen."

Severus approached them with his head down. He wasn't exactly willing to go with them, but he knew Hermione really wanted this to happen. He promised Hermione that he would be on his best behavior. When he finally got to the front of the Great Hall Hermione pulled him into a warm hug.

Hermione smiled at him and said, "Good morning Severus. Are you ready to go?"

Severus said, "Yes I am ready to go."

Together the six of them left the castle and walked in comfortable silence to Hogsmeade. Hermione was holding Severus's hand and James had his arm around Lily.

Remus said, "So where should we head to first?"

Hermione said, "I want to go to the book store."

Sirius said, "Boring. Who wants to go look at dumb old books? Most of them are probably covered in dust anyway."

Hermione said, "Maybe if you actually picked up a book now and then you can stop asking me to help you on your homework."

Sirius said, "I don't need to though. I can get people to easily give me the answer."

Hermione said, "You're going to regret that one day Sirius Black. Not everything can be bought."

Remus said, "I will go to the book store with you."

Sirius rolled his eyes and said, "Meet us at Honeydukes then when you're done." Sirius, James, and Lily headed their own way and Hermione, Severus, and Remus headed their way.

Hermione said, "Thank you Remus for coming with us."

Remus said, "Well I secretly like books too. Sirius and James are too obsessed with Quidditch and don't care to get their work done." Hermione smiled slightly. _That sounds just like Harry and Ron. Those two are always talking about Quidditch. Well at least I'm not too homesick._

Together the three of them walked into the bookstore. The bookstore smelled like old parchment and had so many bookshelves stacked full of books. Hermione knew that the only way they can fit all these books was by an enlargement spell. Hermione didn't know where to start, but Severus started pulling her towards the far left of the store.

Severus said, "I love coming here. They have so many rare books about thousands of topics. I always wanted to buy some of the books but I can't afford it." His voice trailed off in the end. He felt ashamed about not having any money. He grew up in a poor household on Spinners End. His father only ever paid for was his alcohol.

Hermione squeezed his hand and said, "I know how you feel Severus. Sometimes my eyes are bigger than my Gringot's account. Tell you what if you pick out a book you really want I will buy it for you."

Severus looked at her and said, "Hermione I don't need you to buy stuff for me."

She said, "But I want to."

He said, "Hermione it's awkward to have a girl buy something for you. I don't need you to."

She said, "Please Severus just let me this one time."He sighed and slowly gave into her.

He said, "Okay Hermione just one book."

Hermione and Severus walked through each aisle searching for what books they wanted to buy. Severus, like he promised Hermione, picked one book and Hermione ended up buying two of her own books. Remus bought one book as well. The three of them walked out of the bookstore holding their bags. They walked a few stores down and went inside Honeydukes. They found James, Lily, and Sirius in the corner of the huge candy store.

Sirius said, "Did you enjoy buying your books?"

Hermione said, "Yes it was nice seeing how many books they have. We all ended up buying a book. Maybe next time you can join us." Sirius snorted and shook his head in disagreement.

James said, "Are you going to buy any candy Hermione?"

Hermione shook her head and said, "I'm not a big fan of candy honestly. With my parents being dentists I have learned to avoid candy and try to take care of my teeth."

James turned to Remus and said, "Are you going to buy any candy Remus?"

Remus said, "Of course James. You know I have a sweet tooth." Hermione noticed that no one even bothered asking Severus if he was going to buy any.

Hermione said to Severus, "Are you going to buy any candy Severus?"

He said, "I like a few things and I do have a few coins left in my pocket." James begrudgingly handed Severus a bag to put candy in. He also gave Remus a bag as well. The six of them walked around the candy store putting candy in their bag except for Hermione. She walked next to Severus holding his hand.

Sirius said, "Kitten are you sure you don't want not even one piece of candy?"

Hermione glared at him and said, "Stop calling me that Sirius and no I do not want any candy."

Sirius said, "Do you always do what your parents tell you to do?"

She said, "Of course. I adore my parents and they know what's right for me."

Sirius snorted and said, "Ah so that's why you're such a goody goody."

She said, "I am not a goody goody."

Sirius said, "Oh yeah? Then tell me a time that you did something bad or wrong?" Hermione smirked knowing she had a few good stories to tell, but also knew she had to be careful of what information she gave out.

She said, "In my first year of coming to wizard school I set my professor's robes on fire purposely with my wand."

James said, "No way Hermione. Is that true?"

She said, "Yes totally true. I thought he was trying to curse my friend."

Sirius said, "Wow Hermione. Maybe you really aren't such a goody goody after all. Do you have any more stories?"

She said, "My friends and I always broke the rules. We snuck out of our rooms late past curfew and always seemed to be looking for trouble."

Severus said, "I didn't know I was dating a trouble maker."

James commented, "Maybe that's why she likes the Slytherin's. She's one of them." James was trying to say it quietly to Lily, but all of them ended up hearing it. Hermione put her head down feeling slightly hurt by what he said. Severus was about to say something, but Lily beat him to it.

Lily said, "That was mean James. She can hang out with whoever she wants to." Hermione put her head back up and smiled at Lily in thanks.

Severus said, "What's wrong with her liking Slytherin's or even if she was one?"

James said, "They all believe in blood superiority and do dark magic."

Severus said angrily, "You are so ignorant Potter. Not all of us believe in that. I don't. Not all of us really do dark magic. Some of us do study it and research it, but that doesn't make us bad people."

Awkward silence filled the room. No one said anything for awhile. They all continued to add candy into their bag and approached the counter. They bought their candy and headed out of Honeydukes. They all agreed to go to The Three Broomsticks next for a butter beer. The six of them walked down the street and headed inside. They went to an enlarged booth and sat down. On one side sat Lily, James, and Sirius. On the other side sat Hermione, Severus, and Remus. All six of them ordered a butter beer and they started sipping their drinks.

Sirius asked, "So what are you all planning to do once school is over?" James was the first one to respond.

He said with a smirk on his face, "I plan on marrying the love of my life." Hermione felt a pang of sadness hit her. She knew that there would be no happy ending for them.

Lily smiled at James and said, "I love you James."

James smiled back at Lily and said, "I love you too."

Sirius said, "What about you Remus?"

Remus said, "I am unsure myself honestly. There are so many options out there. Maybe I'll become an auror maybe something in the Ministry. Who knows?"

Sirius said, "How about you Hermione?"

Hermione said, "I am unsure of my future. I know I want to stay in the wizarding world. I am leaning towards being a professor though or maybe a healer." Hermione couldn't tell them about her supposed future. She was honestly worried about the war that was coming in her time. She didn't know if she would even have a future. Severus didn't end up saying anything. He just sat there quietly drinking his butterbeer. They all finished up their drinks and headed back to the castle. It was getting late and they all wanted to be back in time for dinner.


	8. Chapter 8

Hermione was eating breakfast with her friends. She couldn't believe it's been a month since she had arrived. She was feeling honestly nervous and sad. She knew she only had a month left here and she didn't feel like she has accomplished what she was meant to do. She kept reminding herself that there was no set plan and she was doing everything right, but she felt like the future was on her hands. If she somehow messed it up there could be no future. She also felt sad because she wanted more time. She didn't want to leave Severus. She loved him with all her heart. She didn't want to hurt him. He already had parents that didn't care about him and the two friends he had besides Hermione were not good for him. She knew that if she ended up leaving it can cause him to turn to the wrong side. She also would miss her new friends. James and Lily do not exist in her future. Sirius is no longer alive and all she had left was Remus. Remus is great, but she wanted them all to be with her when she went back. She sighed moving her eggs around her plate. Now that she was thinking of all these sad thoughts her appetite disappeared. She slowly nibbled on a piece of toast and listened to her friends talk.

Remus said next to her, "Are you okay Hermione? You seem down."

She looked up from her toast and said, "Yeah I'm fine Remus. I was just thinking."

He said, "Are you sure Hermione? You can tell me anything."

She smiled at him and said, "Thanks Remus, but I really am fine."

He said a little unsure, "Okay Hermione."

After breakfast Hermione was summoned to Dumbledore's office for a quick meeting. She said goodbye to her friends and left the Great Hall. She slowly walked through the hallway thinking about why he would summon her. She hasn't talked to him since she first arrived. She knew that he couldn't know what else to do. The only logical thing she can think of is he is just checking up with her. She approached the statue in front of his office and said the password. She walked up the winding staircase and knocked on the door. She waited patiently and was then given the authority to enter. She walked inside and sat in the seat in front of his desk.

Professor Dumbledore said, "Lemon drop dear?"

She shook her head and said, "No thank you Professor."

Professor Dumbledore said, "Right then. So you've been here for about a month. The letter from myself says you will be here for two months. Do you feel like you have come closer to the reason why you have been sent here?"

She brought her fingertip to her mouth and said, "I am unsure Professor. I know it's specifically about Severus. He told me before I left to just go on as normal, but I'm still kind of confused. I have made friends here though. I am I guess doing what I'm supposed to do. I don't know what the end game is, but I have to get it right. My future and everyone's future is relying on me." She never really thought how scary it was and how nerve racking. She thought she was doing everything right, but she was still unsure what she had to do. There was no plan. "Professor when I leave will I get to say goodbye?"

He shook his head and said, "The letter clearly states that you are not allowed to warn them or say anything. You will have to leave unexpected. It does mention though that maybe you can write a letter the day you leave, but you cannot write anything that will give anything away."

She frowned and said, "I don't want to hurt anyone though, especially Severus. If I leave without saying goodbye he will think that I left him. I don't want to leave my friends either, especially the ones I won't ever see again." Her voice trailed off and tears blurred her vision. She tried to keep them at bay, but she ended up crying anyway. It hurt seeing them laughing and happy when she knew what was going to happen.

Professor Dumbledore handed Hermione a tissue and said, "I know you can't really tell me, but what do you mean you won't see them again?"

She dabbed her eyes and said, "I won't tell you how, but in a few years James and Lily die. They are so happy and in love. They plan on marrying right after school is over and I know I can't say anything and I won't, but it's so hard to see them like that when I know their fate. Sirius has an absolute terrible life after school and he does end up dying after finally getting his freedom. Remus is the only one who ends up living a pretty okay life. I mean the best life he can when losing his three best friends."

Professor Dumbledore said, "What about Peter?"

She crossed her arms and said, "Don't ask me about Peter. He's not really their friend. He betrayed them and that's all I'm going to say."

He said, "What happens to Severus?"

She said, "He is still alive and well in my future. He actually works with you here at the school. He's a professor."

He stroked his chin and said, "I didn't expect that. He doesn't seem like someone who would want to teach."

She said, "It wasn't really by choice. He was forced. I think I said too much now."

He smiled and said, "I agree on that, but you didn't give me any pertinent information on the how or why. The future is still safe in your hands."

She said, "Yeah for now, but I still feel lost. How does me being here affect the future if I am not meant to change anything?"

He said, "Who's to say that you being here won't change anything? If there was a set plan you would know it, but for now I am sure that you are doing what you are supposed to do. You haven't said anything that can change the future too much and you are making friends like you are supposed to. All in all I wouldn't be that nervous about it Hermione."

She said, "I guess you are right Professor. Is that all you needed me for?"

He said, "Yes Hermione, but keep in mind you only have a month left. You may be comfortable now, but do not forget about the plan. You cannot get too attached and not leave. You have no choice in the matter. I hope you are aware of the consequences if you end up staying. The future will not exist and you will cease to exist."

She said solemnly, "I understand Professor and I know what I have to do."

He said, "Alright Hermione I was just making sure because I know how tough it can be to be attached to someone and then have to leave."

She said, "I think I will be okay Professor. I know it will be tough in the end to leave, but I know I have to go back. Thank you for actually talking to me this morning. It was nice just talking about my feelings and my current state. It's hard to keep a straight face and pretend that I belong here. I got to pretend that I will be graduating with them and taking my O.W.L.S. I got to pretend that I will be pursuing a career alongside them, but I won't be. In my future there is a war going on Professor. I can't tell you the details, but it is nice to actually be able to pretend that everything is fine. I love talking to people who aren't afraid of the future. That is what I am going to miss most of all when I leave. You have a good day Professor. I got to head to class."

He smiled at her and said, "Have a good day Hermione." She stood up from her chair and left Dumbledore's office. She genuinely felt better now that she was able to talk freely about what she was feeling. She still didn't feel like she was any closer to solving anything, but maybe Dumbledore was right. Her just being here might end up changing future for good after all.


	9. Chapter 9

Hermione felt her time slowly coming to a close. She still had a month left as Dumbledore had told her a few days ago, but she didn't feel it was enough. Today she decided to spend as much time as she can with Severus. She knew in her present time he wouldn't even give her any time of day. He hated her and Hermione just wanted to get his attention. She knew that when she came back it would still be the same. Even with their past she knew that present Severus was too angry, spiteful, and wasn't the same man. It hurt Hermione immensely that something happened to him to make him act that way. She knew that part of it was an act for the war, but a lot of it was his true personality. She hoped that when she saw him as her Professor he still had some similarities as his younger self, but she knew that was wishful thinking on her part, especially with the war going on they wouldn't even have a chance to be in any kind of relationship. She knew that she had to make the most of it now while she can.

Severus and Hermione met outside the Great Hall right after breakfast. It was another Quidditch game, but this time it was Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff. The weather outside was awfully chilly. Hermione wore her Gryffindor scarf, gray mittens and a gray hat to match, and one of her warm sweaters that her mother bought her last Christmas. Severus wore all black as usual with his Slytherin scarf, a pair of Slytherin crest gloves, and a long black cozy jacket. She held his hand as they walked outside into the cold breezy air. She shook slightly and said, "It's very chilly today isn't? I wouldn't be surprised if it started snowing during the game."

He nodded and said, "It probably will. Who do you think is going to win the game? It's pretty close the two teams. They are nice in the school, but when it comes to Quidditch they play hard."

She said, "I'm not sure. I've only been here a month and saw one game with both of our teams. I don't know how they play."

He said, "I'm rooting for Ravenclaw myself. They have an amazing seeker on their team and their keeper is really good. Hufflepuff is great too, but I think Ravenclaw outmatches them." They reached the Quidditch pitch and went into the stands. Normally Severus would sit on the side of where Slytherin's would be, but again he sat next to Hermione not a care in the world. Hermione started shivering again from the cold when a strong blast of wind blew. Severus pulled her closer to him and said, "I'll keep you warm." She smiled at him and put her head on his shoulder. He said a little unsure, "Do you like being seen with me like this?"

She lifted her head back up and said, "Of course I do. I don't care what people think. I love you and my friends already know that. The other people at this school can mind their own business. All that matters is you and I."

He grinned at her. "I'm sorry Hermione I'm just not used to being seen with a girl who loves me. It's new territory for me, but I'm glad you are okay with it because I am too." Hermione pecked him on the cheek and cuddled back up against him. Together they kept each other warm as the other students started to climb into the stands. Her friends didn't end up sitting next to him, which for Severus was fine by him. He didn't want it to be any more awkward for the both of them. It was new for them to be seen cuddled up together in the open, but it's been weeks now of dating they might as well show the world that they didn't care for other people's opinions. A few minutes past by with comfortable silence between the two of them as everyone else around them were talking excitedly about the game. Hermione felt a slight twinge of pain as she thought of her present again. He would never be seen with her like this during a Quidditch game. They wouldn't even be sitting close together at all. She let out a sigh of sadness. "You okay Hermione?"

She lied, "Yeah I'm just feeling a little homesick honestly. I've been here a month now, but I still miss my old friends, but I am happy here with you." He kissed her on the head and pulled her closer to him. Both teams started to come out on their brooms. Hermione watched as they flew around the stadium. The Quidditch referee walked onto the field and approached the trunk that was filled with the four balls. She unclasped the trunk and let the bludgers and snitch go up into the air. Then she picked up the quaffle. She blew her whistle and threw the quaffle into the air signaling the start of the game. Ravenclaw was first to grab the quaffle and headed to Hufflepuff's keeper in front of the three rings. The chaser was moving fast past the other team and ducked quickly when a bludger was sent his way. He threw the quaffle towards the bottom goal, but it was quickly blocked by Hufflepuff's keeper. Hufflepuff's keeper grinned nastily at the chaser and threw it to one of Hufflepuff's chaser.

Severus said next to her, "Hufflepuff has a really good keeper as well. As I said this will be a close game between the two teams. Last year when they played against each other the game went on for a really long time because both seekers couldn't catch the snitch, but Hufflepuff ended up winning that one after she finally caught it. This game is kind of a rivalry because of that game last year, so you might see how ugly they play." _Not as ugly as present Slytherin based on how nasty they are at trying to get people hurt._

"Do you fly a broom Severus?"

He said, "I do actually. I don't fly much, but when I do I find it relaxing. It clears my mind when I have to think. I never wanted to be on the Quidditch team though. I just like flying solo by myself, but hey maybe I can take you out on my broom and we can fly together." Hermione normally would be scared to fly. She hated flying, but by how eager his voice sounded and how he looked at her made her slowly succumb to his pleads, plus it gave her more time to be with him. Maybe if he enjoyed it so much she would too.

She smiled at him and said, "Sure Severus. Do you want to after the game is over?" He nodded at her. They continued to watch the game as the score was now 20-0 Ravenclaw trailing behind. Ravenclaw stole the quaffle from one of the chasers and scored a goal for Ravenclaw making it 20-10. The game went on as Severus predicted it to. It was very close with both teams only 10-20 points away at all times. The only deciding factor was who was going to catch the snitch this time. 20 minutes went by with the score being 50-40 with again Ravenclaw trailing. She slowly was becoming bored with the game and was actually eager to go fly with Severus. She watched as both seekers started to chase after the snitch when they both saw it at the same time. The Ravenclaw seeker was ahead of Hufflepuff this time. He was zooming fast and had his arm stretched out ready to catch it. Hufflepuff trailed behind. She tried to get beside him, but he zoomed out of the way. The snitch dived low towards the ground. They both dived for it. Ravenclaw stretched a little bit more and caught it in his fist just as Hufflepuff tried to get it. He pumped his fist in the air with the snitch clasped in his hand.

The whistle blew and the announcer announced "Ravenclaw has caught the snitch. The score is now 190 to 50. Ravenclaw wins!" Cheers broke out into the stands and Severus grinned.

"Are you ready to fly Hermione?"

She smiled nervously at him and said, "I hope so. I was always scared of flying, but I trust you Severus."

Severus and Hermione went back into the castle so Severus can retrieve his broom. They walked back outside into the cold air and headed down a ways as if they were heading to Hagrad's. Severus stopped walking and said, "Here's a good spot. If you don't like it we won't fly for long. Just let me know if you want me to stop." He enlarged his broom a little bit to make room for the both of them. His broom wasn't that great, but he loved it none the less. He mounted his broom and waited for her to get on behind him. She slowly got on the broom behind him and clutched him tightly in front of her. "You ready?"

She closed her eyes and said, "Yes I am ready." He kicked off the ground and they slowly rose into the air. She clutched him tighter to her and her eyes were still closed. They rose up higher and higher and then they stopped rising.

He said, "You can open your eyes now Hermione. It's not that scary." She slowly opened her eyes and saw how high they were, but she couldn't help but agree that the sight was beautiful. She slowly stopped squeezing him and just kept her hands rested on his shoulders.

She said, "You were right Severus. This is beautiful."

He said, "Get ready we are going to start flying." They started zooming through the sky. She again started holding tightly. It felt nice to hold him closely to her. She didn't want to stop flying even if she was a little bit scared. They flew around the lake and then headed back towards the castle. She started giggling in joy. She was starting to enjoy flying. "Are you starting to enjoy flying?"

She said, "You were right Severus this is amazing. Thank you for taking me out flying." She kissed his shoulder and held him to her. _I'm going to miss this when I go back._

They softly landed on the ground and they got off the broom. They held hands as they walked over to a large tree on the grounds and sat against it together. She again rested her head on his shoulder and he pulled her tightly to him. He stared at her and said, "I love you Hermione."

She put her head up and said, "I love you too Severus. Don't ever forget that." She leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. It went on for a few minutes and they slowly parted. They held each other tightly to each other and sat together in comfortable silence as the day went on. When lunch time came around they both stood up and again held hands as they walked back to the castle with grins from ear to ear.


	10. Chapter 10

Hermione Granger woke up the next day late for breakfast. She quickly got out of her twin bed and stretched her muscles. She didn't know why her roommates wouldn't wake her up or why her alarm wouldn't go off, unless of course she didn't set it. She walked over to the chest in front of her bed and unlocked it. She took out her school uniform and headed for the showers. She stripped off her clothes and walked into the glass shower. She turned on the water and started on her hair. After she got out of the shower she dried herself off with a fluffy towel and changed into her clothes. She then brushed out her hair and put in her frizzy hair serum. After years of having frizzy hair she finally found the perfect hair gel to keep it curly, but not too crazy. After taking care of her hair for the day she put on her white knee socks and her black school shoes. She headed out of the room and walked down the stairs to the common room. She found that everyone had already left to go get breakfast. It was completely deserted. She cursed to herself and quickened her step. She exited the portrait hole and headed down the hallway. She was so in a hurry that she didn't see the two people who were following her or hear their footsteps. All she can think about was getting to breakfast on time and seeing her friends. She was about to turn the corner when she finally heard the whispered voices. She turned around with her wand at the ready. She saw Regulus Black and Rodolphus Lestrange. She kept her wand pointed at them and her lip curled up in disgust.

Rodolphus glared at her and said, "Don't look at me like that mudblood."

"What do you want Rodolphus? Haven't you had enough last time?" She sneered.

Regulus said, "You don't have your savior here to protect you. He's eating breakfast and is unaware of what is going on."

She said, "I don't need him to protect me Regulus. I know how to fight on my own thank you. What do you two have against me? I have done nothing since I came here and if your excuse is just because I have muggle parents then that's terrible."

Rodolphus said, "We don't have to answer questions from you, but if you must know you corrupted our friend. He was ready to join our side and you batted your eyes and got him all loopy. He is getting too soft and you are getting in the way of our plans. I know you won't leave him be if I ask you so unfortunately we got to force you. "

She gripped her wand tightly. She felt fear creep up inside of her. She was genuinely scared. She didn't know what they were going to do to her and knowing Rodolphus's future self and Regulus ending up being a Death Eater made her even more scared. She knew she had to fight for her life. It was them vs. her and she was ready. Instead of waiting for them to cast she beat them to it. She started off with a strong stinging hex directed at both of them. They were quick to repel the hex and each sent a spell back at her. Regulus sent flipendo at her, while Rodolphus sent something a little nastier. His spell was the cruciatus curse. Hermione reacted quickly and sent flipendo back at Regulus and blocked Rodolphus's spell. Regulus wasn't quick enough to block the return spell and was sent flying back.

Rodolphus gritted his teeth in anger and screamed at her, "Levicorpus."

She was quick again to block it. She conjured a group of canaries and sent them flying towards both of the two Slytherin's. The fight felt like it went on forever and there seem to be no end. They kept casting spells at one another. Hermione's spells stayed genuinely "safe" while Regulus and Rodolphus's spells increasingly got stronger and stronger. Their spells were all dark and reeked of Death Eaters. Some spells Hermione didn't even know of, but she knew they must've been nasty by the color of them. Then Hermione made a mistake in the fight. Rodolphus sent locomotor mortis at her making her legs bind together. She wasn't quick enough at the counter curse and was sent flying back on her back from another flipendo from Regulus. She tried to get back up but the two surrounded her. Rodolphus casted a body bind on her keeping her glued to the floor. She tried wiggling about, but nothing was helping. She stared up at them and instantly felt terror from the way they were looking at her. She felt stupid for not being able to block a simple spell and now her life was in their hands.

Regulus said, "So Rodolphus what do you think we should do with the mudblood?"

Rodolphus grinned evilly and said, "Cast the spell Severus taught us to keep people quiet."

Regulus grinned and casted langlock on her. Hermione's tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. She was unable to speak or say anything. For good measures, Regulus casted a strong muffliato around the hallway, so no one can hear her cry or scream.

"You have been a pain in my arse since you first arrived here. First I thought it was just another fling. An attachment of sorts, but he never stopped seeing you. He talks about you all the time and is even considering being with you instead of joining us. We need him Mudblood and with you in the way we can't accomplish that." Rodolphus pointed his wand at her and casted crucio.

Hermione started spasming on the floor. She was twitching and having convulsions. She was in complete agony and couldn't do a damn thing. She tried to scream or shout, but it wasn't working. She kept spasming on the floor and couldn't stop.

Rodolphus let the spell go and said, "I'm not through with you yet mudblood. Just because I ended the spell does not mean you torture is up. Lucky for us breakfast won't be over for another five minutes." He casted another crucio and started laughing with glee.

Regulus stood back slightly and watched. He wasn't sure what to do next, but he knew Rodolphus will tell him when he was ready.

"Cast the conjunctivitis curse so she can't see." Regulus casted the spell on her and watched as her eyes got red and irritated. Slowly they swelled shut and Hermione was unable to see.

Rodolphus let the cruciatus curse end again and said, "I hope you understand our message mudblood. We still aren't done with you yet. I want to leave a lasting message on you that you won't forget." Rodolphus nodded at Regulus.

Regulus kneeled down to Hermione's level. He ripped open her shirt sleeve and said, "Do it quickly. Time is almost up."

Rodolphus quickly casted on Hermione's arm and started the incantation aloud. His wand moved back and forth as if writing something in the air. The spell went on for another minute and the incantation got louder and louder. Hermione was still spasming on the floor with tears streaming down her face. He ended the spell and said, "Now you won't forget. No one will Mudblood."Etched on Hermione's arm was the word mudblood. It was carved deeply into her porcelain white skin. It was dripping blood and was leaving a slow pool of blood. He sent one more crucio at her and kept his wand on her. Again Rodolphus nodded at Regulus.

Regulus casted crucio on her and kept his wand pointed. They kept it on her and casted it again to cause her more pain. They kept at it until they heard the ticking of the clock chime the hour. They ended the spell and quickly ran off leaving her unconscious and bleeding on the floor from her internal injuries and her wounded arm.


	11. Chapter 11

Hello my beautiful followers! In this chapter Severus casts the patronus charm. I am not sure if canon Snape learned it while in school and was able to cast one this young, but in my story he can. Thank you for everyone who has followed and favorited my story. Please don't forget to leave a review. It really helps me get out the next chapter when I know people are reading and enjoying it. Anyway on to the next chapter.

Severus was sitting by himself at the Slytherin table during breakfast. On his plate were scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. He picked up his tea cup and took a long sip. He took his tea black with one spoonful of sugar. He looked again at the Gryffindor table and scanned his eyes down the whole table and still couldn't find Hermione. He looked over at the entrance and no one came in. He was worried. Hermione is always on time and usually here before him. He kept on eating while keeping his eyes open for her. As breakfast came almost to a close he couldn't wait anymore. He hesitantly walked over to the Marauders at the Gryffindor table. He approached Lily and Remus and started shuffling his feet. He said nervously, "Um excuse me have you guys seen Hermione this morning?"

Lily said, "No Severus I haven't. I'm sorry."

Remus said, "Maybe she woke up late this morning."

Severus wasn't too sure about that, but it made sense to him. He nodded at them in thanks and walked back over to his table. He finished his tea and decided to go look for her. He stood up and left the Great Hall. He walked down the hallway and started heading toward Gryffindor Tower. As he was getting closer he saw something in the middle of the hallway. He walked quicker and saw that it was a girl underneath a pool of blood. He ran over to her and realized it was Hermione. He shouted down at her, "Hermione!" She didn't respond. He checked her pulse and found it still beating. He knew he couldn't leave her lying on the floor alone. He took out his wand and casted his patronus. He watched as what used to be a silver doe came out as an otter. He stared at it in shock. He shook his head remembering that Hermione needed his help. "I need help in the hallway outside the Great Hall near Gryffindor Tower immediately. Hermione Granger is past out on the floor in a pool of blood." He sent it to Madam Pomfrey and waited for her to arrive. He didn't know what else to do while he waited. He didn't know any healing spells, especially for something this large. He saw that her arms and hands were twitching slightly. He felt sickness engulf him. He knew what that meant. He had seen it too many times before. She was hit with the cruciatus curse. Finally he saw Madam Pomfrey come rushing towards them.

She gasped when she saw Hermione and said, "What happen here Mr. Snape?"

He said, "I don't know Madam Pomfry. I was coming back from breakfast when I saw her like this on the floor."

She tsked and shook her head. She levitated Hermione off the floor with her wand and walked her back through the hallway and past the Great Hall to the Hospital Wing.

Severus followed slowly behind. Even with Madam Pomfrey he still felt sick with dread. He was mad at himself for not trying to find her sooner. Once he found out who did this he would kill them.

Madam Pomfrey slowly lowered Hermione down on one of the beds. She turned to Severus and said, "I am sorry dear, but you cannot be here while I am healing her. Leave and come back later please once she is done."

He crossed his arms in defiance and said, "No I won't. I want to know she is okay. I am not leaving her side."

She scowled and said, "I am not telling you Mr. Snape. I am ordering you. Now leave now at once. The longer we argue the more in danger she gets."

Severus hesitated, but hearing that she might be even in more danger he quickly nodded and left the Hospital Wing. He didn't go very far though. He stayed outside the double doors and waited patiently. He would wait forever if he had to.

Madam Pomfrey quickly got right to work. She cast a cleansing charm on Hermione that made all the dry blood disappear from her body. After cleaning her up she held onto her arm and started the incantation vulnera sanentur. While she was saying the incantation the wound on her arm would not go away or get any better. She tried for a little bit longer, but still etched on her arm was the word mudblood. She stopped the spell and slowly dropped her arm in sadness. There was nothing she could do to fix that ugly word on her arm. It was used by dark magic and spells like vulnera sanentur was not good enough. She casted a body scan on Hermione and saw in great horror that her body was greatly compromised. She had internal injuries that would need a lot of time to heal and she had after effects from the multiple cruciatus curse that was casted on her. She went to the bookshelf of potions that she had and took out a blood replenesher, a potion to heal some of the internal injuries, and a painless potion to keep the pain to a minimum. She walked back over to Hermione and slowly opened her mouth. She forced the three potions down her throat while she stayed unconscious. Madam Pomfrey knew that one potion for her internal injuries won't be enough though. She will need more as the days went on. Her progress would have to be monitored and she could have after effects that just aren't being seen.

Professor Dumbledore heard of what happen and came to the Hospital Wing. He saw Madam Pomfrey looking over Hermione and said, "What happen here Poppy?"

She said, "Based on her injuries it looks like Hermione was attacked by another student in the hallway this morning. She has a lot of internal injuries, her body is still twitching, and her arm will continue to have an ugly word carved into her arm. I tried to heal it, but it won't go away Albus."

He sighed and shook his head in sadness. He said, "It's a shame though. She doesn't even belong in this time and she comes here and gets attacked. Based on the word on her arm it was probably someone who is turning to the dark Poppy. I will have a word with her once she is awake. I notice that Mr. Snape is waiting outside the door. Is she decent enough for you to let him in or does he still need to wait?"

She really didn't want him to come in, but Hermione was sleeping and was stable for now. She sighed and said, "Yes Mr. Snape can come in, but not for very long."

Professor Dumbledore opened the double doors and let Severus come inside the Hospital Wing.

Severus quickly rushed over to the bed and said, "Is she okay Madam Pomfrey?"

She replied, "For now, but I am not sure how she will be later when she wakes up. She does have some internal injuries that I am worried about and she obviously still has after effects from the cruciatus curse."

Severus shouted in anger, "Those bastards."

She glared at him and said, "Watch your language Mr. Snape. We don't use those kind of words."

Professor Dumbledore said, "Do you know who did this to her Mr. Snape?"

He said, "No sir I'm not for sure, but I believe it was Regulus Black and Rodolphus Lestrange. They attacked us a few weeks ago on our trip to Hogsmeade and now they wanted their revenge."

Professor Dumbledore said, "Aren't they your friends though?"

"Not anymore. I stopped being their friend when they threatened us. Hermione didn't deserve any of this. They targeted her because of me and I will never forgive myself."

Dumbledore clapped him on the back and said, "It was not your fault Mr. Snape. The people who did this will get in trouble and you don't have to worry about it. Don't do anything drastic Severus. I know it might be difficult for you, but you cannot retaliate."

He scowled and crossed his arms. "I refuse to just stand by and do nothing. They deserve to get what they get. They nearly killed her Headmaster. How can you say that?"

Dumbledore said, "You have a hopeful future ahead of you. Do not get distracted by built up anger and revenge. Hermione wouldn't want that. She would want you to let it go and let us deal with it. Do not get yourself sent to Azkaban."

Severus slowly relented and uncrossed his arms. "Can you give me a few minutes alone with her?"

Dumbledore smiled at him and said, "If it's okay with Madam Pomfrey then I don't see why not."

Severus looked at Madam Pomfrey hopefully. He wanted to sit by her bedside and hold her hand and be able to talk freely without people watching him.

Madam Pomfrey said, "Alright that's fine Mr. Snape, but you only got a few minutes, plus you know you have to get to class. You can't just stay here all day. I will let you stay for five minutes, but then you have to go."

Severus nodded in thanks. He watched as they both left through the double doors. He sat down in the chair next to her bed. He reached out and held her hand. "I am so sorry Hermione for all of this. I didn't know they were going to attack you again. You didn't deserve any of this my love. I wish I was there. I would have protected you. I would have fought them for you. If I had known I would have stopped them before they even got to you. I pray that you will be okay Hermione. I need you to be okay. I love you so much." His finger slowly traced the word that was engraved into her arm. "I can't believe they would do this to you Hermione just because you're associated with me. I think we need to stop seeing each other once you get better. I don't want them to target you again. You deserve better. Now you are scarred forever because of me. I am so sorry Hermione. So so sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am and how much I blame myself." He felt tears enter his eyes. He hasn't cried since he was a little boy, but they started falling at just the thought of her being attacked. He covered his face and started crying in his hands.


	12. Chapter 12

Severus still had his head in his hands when he heard Madam Pomfrey come back inside.

Madam Pomfrey said, "I am sorry dear, but it is time for you to go. You are going to miss class if you don't start heading there now."

Severus stood up from the chair and said, "I want to see her later."

"Will see Mr. Snape, but remember we are still waiting on her to wake up."

He nodded at her in understanding and left the Hospital Wing. He walked down the hallway tear stains still on his face from crying only a few minutes ago. He slowly dragged himself through the hallway. He didn't care if he got there on time or not. All he can think about was Hermione. While walking he didn't see anyone out in the hallway. He knew that meant that people were already in class and class was in session. He sighed and slowly trekked down into the dungeons and to the Potions classroom. He opened the door and cringed as everyone turned to look at him.

Professor Slughorn looked up from teaching and said, "Mr. Snape class started five minutes ago. Why are you late to my class?"

He muttered, "I am sorry Professor. It won't happen again."

The Professor said, "Be sure that it doesn't."

Severus mechanically worked through the period. He didn't put really any effort or heart into the potion he was working on. All he wanted to do was go back to the Hospital Wing and see her. Half way through the period he heard Lily whisper across to him.

Lily whispered to him, "Are you okay Severus?"

He looked up from his potion and looked over to her. He whispered back, "No I am not okay. I will tell you later after class." He knew he should tell them too about Hermione. They were her friends after all.

She whispered again to him, "Is it about Hermione? Is that why she isn't in class today?"

He nodded at her and they both continued to work silently. After the class ended the Marauders were first to approach his table for information. The five of them walked out the classroom door.

James was the first to talk. "Where is Hermione Snape?"

He sighed and said, "Hermione is currently in the Hospital Wing as we speak."

Sirius glared at him and said, "What did you do to her?"

Severus glared back at him and said, "I didn't do anything to her. She was attacked in the hallway."

Lily gasped and covered her mouth in shock. She said, "By who Severus?"

He said, "Rodolphus Lestrange and Regulus Black." At the last name they all looked at Sirius knowing that was his brother. Even though he told Dumbledore he wasn't sure he knew it had to be them.

James said, "What did they do to her? How did you find her?"

Severus really didn't want to relay the story, but he knew Hermione would want them to know. He sighed and said, "I left breakfast early and found her in the hallway passed out and under a pool of blood. They carved the word mudblood on her arm and her body was still twitching from after effects of the cruciatus curse. Madam Pomfrey says she has internal injuries from the attack, but Hermione is still currently unconscious. She doesn't know when she will awake or how high the damage was."

Sirius glared at Severus again and said, "This is all your fault. If you weren't friends with those people Hermione would be safe and sound with us. I don't know what she saw in you, but when she eventually wakes up I hope she leaves you. She deserves better than you."

Severus lowered his head in shame. He wasn't even angry at what he said. He felt the same way as he did. He couldn't fire back a response.

Lily was the first one to respond. "How dare you say that to him? Severus didn't do anything. It wasn't his fault. It was your brother and his friend. Just because he was friends with them does not mean Severus caused or started the fight. You better apologize to him right now."

Sirius snorted and said, "I have nothing to apologize for. We all know it's true. If Hermione wasn't associated with Snivellus she would be with us right now not in a hospital bed."

Remus, who hasn't said one word, decided to get into the conversation. "I agree with Lily Sirius. Snape has nothing to do with it and we talked about this before. It was her choice to be with him. Severus is just upset as we are and I don't think you blaming him is making any of this better."

Sirius turned to James and said, "How about you James? Are you on my side or their side?"

Severus felt bad that he caused all o this mess between the four, but he also felt giddy knowing that Lily and Remus were on his side after all.

James wrapped his arm around Sirius and said, "Sirius is like a brother to me. We have been through thick and thin. I am sorry Lily and Remus, but I agree with Sirius. Hermione should have just stuck with us, but she wanted to be associated with Slytherin ilk." He turned to Severus and said, "If you weren't so into dark magic and making death eater friends she wouldn't be scarred right now. Let's go Sirius." The three of them watched as James and Sirius walked off together and Severus again felt a pang of guilt and hurt. H actually felt like he was going to start crying again.

Lily saw his face and pulled him into a hug. Severus was in shock that she hugged him. She hadn't hugged him since he called her that nasty name a year ago. He hesitantly hugged her back reminding himself that things were different now. She pulled away and said, "Don't listen to them Severus. They are just angry right now. We both know that this wasn't your fault."

He smiled at her in thanks. He was happy that he had more than just Hermione on his side. The three of them walked down the hallway and to their next class. They planned on going to the Hospital Wing after class during lunch.

When the period ended the three of them walked to the Hospital Wing and Severus was the first to enter. He walked over to the bed and sat down in the chair. Hermione was still the same and Severus felt disappointment engulf him. He was looking forward to being able to talk to her or at least see her open her eyes.

Madam Pomfrey came out from the room attached to the Hospital Wing and said, "She unfortunately is still the same. She hasn't woken up yet or even moved since you left."

Lily said, "Do you know when she will awake?"

She shook her head and said, "I cannot predict what will happen Ms. Evans or when she will wake up."

Remus said, "But couldn't you cast the spell to make her wake up?"

She said, "I could, but it is not advised to do that this early on. Her sleeping right now is actually helping her injuries heal. If I wake her too soon or by force she might have problems recovering. Right now her health is still compromised. The good thing is her body has stopped twitching and some of her internal injuries are healing and have gotten better since she arrived here this morning. Now I suggest that you three go to lunch, continue on with your classes, and check back later because you three being here isn't really helping anything. I know you are anxious Mr. Snape to see her awake, but we cannot speed up her recovery. I apologize that this isn't really good news, but seeing that a lot of her injuries are healing she should hopefully be able to make a full recovery."

Severus smiled at Madam Pomfrey and said, "Thank you for at least giving us some good news. We will come back later then after dinner."

The three of them walked out of the Hospital Wing and went into the Great Hall for lunch. Remus and Lily said goodbye to Severus and Severus went on his way to the Slytherin table. Again he ended up sitting alone at his table. He scanned the table and saw Regulus and Rodolphus laughing to each other on the other end. He glared at them in anger, but he kept his cool reminding himself that it wasn't worth it. He was glad that Hermione was slowly recovering. All he wanted to do was to hug her and tell her that he was there for her.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello my followers! I thought long and hard about where I wanted to take this story and more specifically this chapter. I was thinking about Neville Longbottom's parents and how his parents lost their mind because of the cruciatus curse. Now I know Hermione wasn't nearly exposed to it as long as they have, but it wouldn't make sense to have her miraculously be okay after the multiple times the spell was casted on her. Hopefully you all like where this chapter is going and will lead to more chapters later on. Again thank you to everyone who has followed and favorited this story. I appreciate all the support. On to the next chapter!**

Hermione woke up with an excruciating headache. Her head hurt and her whole body hurt. She looked around the room and saw that she was in the Hospital Wing. She didn't remember why she was in here, or why her body and her head were aching, but she wanted answers now. She saw Madam Pomfrey approach her bed. She croaked up at her, "What happen?" Madam Pomfrey gave her a sympathetic look. Hermione knew she knew something that she didn't and that unnerved her.

"Ms. Granger you are in the hospital wing. You were attacked in the hallway two days ago."

"Where is Harry and Ron? Have they come to see me?" Hermione wanted to see Harry and Ron. They were her two best friends. If they knew she was in the Hospital Wing they would be here. They would want to know she was awake.

She looked at her quizzically. Again that unnerved Hermione.

 _Why is she looking at me like that? I want to see Harry and Ron. Is that such a hard request?_

"I don't know who those people are dear. Now stop this talking at once you are getting yourself too excited. Your health is still in danger. You still have internal injuries that are healing. I am going to cast one more body scan on you to check your health." She casted the spell over Hermione and saw something in Hermione's mind that she didn't like. The rest of her body was healing beautifully and should be fine in the next few days, but her mind showed something different. The limbic system, including the hippocampus, was compromised. This is a common symptom of being exposed too much to the cruciatus curse. Madam Pomfrey wasn't sure what it meant, but she was worried about her memory processing.

The double doors open and in walked Severus Snape just in time. He's been coming here at this time two days now and would continue to show up until she was better. He saw that Hermione was finally awake and quickly rushed over to her. "She's awake! Does that mean she's okay now Madam Pomfrey?"

Hermione looked at him in confusion. She had no idea who he was, but he looked so familiar.

Madam Pomfrey shook her head in the negative. "Just because she's awake does not mean she's out of the woods yet Mr. Snape."

Hermione said aloud, "Mr. Snape? What?"

Severus gripped her hand and said, "I'm here my love. I've been so worried about you. I am so sorry for what happen. I wish I was there to save you."

Hermione still looked at him in confusion. "My love? You were my Professor just yesterday. What is going on? Where is Harry and Ron?" _What is going on? Why is this boy who has the last name Snape calling me love and why does no one know who Harry and Ron are? This must be a dream._

"I don't know who those people are Hermione and what do you mean Professor? Madam Pomfrey what is going on?"

Madam Pomfrey replied, "I am unsure Mr. Snape, but based on my scans that I have done and the way Ms. Granger is responding it seems that her memories have been tampered with. I am not sure what she remembers or how much is gone, but it does not look good or sound good."

"Hermione, can you tell me who Harry and Ron are?" Snape asked.

She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Okay I will play your game then. Harry and Ron are my two best friends here at Hogwarts ever since I was a first year. I don't know they haven't come and saw me yet. If they knew I was in the Hospital Wing they would have been here immediately."

"I am sorry Hermione, but I don't think those people are here at school. I have never seen you hang out with those people."

She swallowed in nervousness. She was honestly scared. _Why are these people talking to me like I don't know what I'm talking about? How can they not know who Harry Potter is and why is the boy talking to me have the same last name as my Professor? Unless of course he is him. Oh god how did this happen?_

The double doors to the Hospital Wing opened up again and in walked Lily and Remus. They walked over to Hermione's hospital bed and stood next to Severus.

Remus was the first to speak. "I am glad to see you are awake Hermione. How are you feeling?"

"I am sorry, but who are you?" Hermione was even more confused. She had never seen these two people before and she was starting to become aggravated. These people all knew who she was and she didn't know who they are.

Remus said, "I am Remus remember? Did something happen to her memory Severus? Why is she acting like this?"

Hearing Remus say Severus made Hermione gasp in shock. _I must have gone back in time then. So this is in fact Severus Snape and Remus Lupin._ She swallowed hard and tried to keep her cool. The last thing she remembered was being in her common room with Harry and Ron. The rest was very fuzzy.

Severus tried again to communicate with her and to make her understand. "Hermione do you remember anything? Do you know what your last memory is?"

"I um was in my common room with Harry and Ron. That's all I really remember."

"Hermione there is no Harry and Ron. You were found in the hallway passed out in a pool of blood. You really don't remember what happen?"

She shook her head in the negative. "I am sorry I don't."

Remus looked at Madam Pomfrey and said, "How long will she continue be in bed?"

"A few more days Mr. Lupin. If she is lucky she can maybe be released tomorrow if some of her other injuries heal. I don't know about her memory loss. At least it is not severe enough where she doesn't know who she is. If you keep talking to her about the last few days maybe she'll remember."

Hermione's eyes landed on Lily. Something about her seemed familiar, but again she had no idea who she was. "Who are you?"

Lily looked slightly hurt. "It's me Lily." She turned to Severus and said, "She must remember when she was at Beauxbaton."

Hermione almost responded by saying no she never been there, but she quickly realized that it was probably a cover story that she made up to stay here. That thought alone quickly made Hermione stop talking. If she gave too much away she can ruin the future. She knew there was a reason why she was here. She had to stop talking about Hogwarts and Harry and Ron.

The double doors opened again and in walked Dumbledore. Dumbledore walked over to the front of the bed and smiled at Hermione. "Good morning Ms. Granger. It's good to see that you are awake."

 _He must know why I am here then if he knows who I am. Once I get out of this bed I will ask him to help me remember. I wonder how long then I will be here. What is the reason why I am here? She had so many questions, but she knew now wasn't the time to ask them._

She smiled up at him and said, "Good morning Professor."

Madam Pomfrey said, "Headmaster it looks like Hermione is having problems with her memory. She doesn't remember what happen in the hallway and she doesn't remember her friends here at Hogwarts. She mentioned knowing two boys named Harry and Ron, but none of us know who they are."

The Headmaster stroked his beard in thought. "Well I say we just give her more time. Most memory losses aren't permanent, especially in the wizarding world. She just might be thinking about her friends at Beauxbaton and got confused."

They all nodded in agreement. It made perfect sense and there didn't seem to be any reason to argue with his logic.

Severus said, "So Professor you think that she would be okay then?"

He smiled at him and said, "Yes Mr. Snape. I think after a few more days of rest she will be back to normal. Now it is almost time for class. You three should be heading off now. You can see her later."

Severus frowned. He didn't want to leave her side now that she was awake, but he knew she needed her rest. He walked over to her bed. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I will see you later Hermione."

The three of them walked out of the Hospital Wing and headed to their first class.


	14. Chapter 14

"Can I please leave the Hospital Wing?" Hermione begged Madam Pomfrey. It's been five days since she was brought here and all she wanted to do was leave. Even though her memory still wasn't back, she couldn't stand being in this hospital bed any longer.

Madam Pomfrey knew she had no reason to keep her here any longer. Her internal injuries finished healing yesterday. Unfortunately there was nothing she could have done about the nasty word carved into Hermione's arm. It was permanent and nothing she has tried has made it any better. She tried creams. She even tried a potion or a charm but it wouldn't work. Overall, for Hermione it could have been a lot worse. In Madam Pomfrey's eyes, and many others, she got out lucky. "Alright Hermione you can be released, but do not overexert yourself. I know your memory is still not all intact and I do not need to see you back here again if you try too much too early."

Hermione nodded in understanding. "Yes Ma'am. I will stay out of trouble and try my best to not come back here. Thank you for patching me up and healing me."

"It's no problem at all dear. You may go."

Hermione swung her legs over the side of the hospital bed and stood up. It felt right to be able to stand on her own two feet again. She stretched her back feeling a slight pain from laying the wrong way the last few days. She walked out of the double doors and headed right to breakfast. She really wanted to see the Headmaster about the supposed "plan" just to make sure she isn't missing any crucial details, but she knew everyone would be at breakfast, plus she was starving. Hospital food, even if it was at Hogwarts, didn't taste as good as the feast they had in the Great Hall. She opened the big heavy door to the Great Hall and walked inside. It felt good to be back in here again and see all her friends and Professors. She walked over to the Gryffindor table and took a seat between Lily and Remus. They both hugged her tightly.

"I am so glad that you are out of the hospital!" exclaimed Remus.

"Me too Hermione. We all missed you. It hasn't been the same without you with us," said Lily. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel great actually. My injuries have healed and my head and body don't ache anymore. I still can't remember what happen to make me get attacked though," Hermione responded.

"Ask Severus after breakfast. He can give you most of the details," replied Lily.

Hermione looked over at the Slytherin table and met Severus's eyes. She smiled at him and he smiled back at her. Even though Hermione didn't remember why they were dating she couldn't help but feel something towards him because of how many times he visited her while she was bed ridden. It was obvious that he cared for her a great deal and Hermione didn't want to hurt him.

"I think you have something to say to Hermione Sirius and James," said Lily. She was angry at them for not visiting her while in the hospital. They still were blaming Severus for her being in there and Lily and Remus decided to not talk to them until they apologized to both of them. Sirius and James looked down at their plates in shame. They felt bad for not going to see her. They still were angry at Severus, but they knew they had to apologize.

James looked up from his plate and said, "I am sorry Hermione for not coming to see you. I was being pig headed and a jerk. Will you forgive me?" James looked down again at his plate.

Hermione smiled at him and said, "Of course I forgive you. What are friends for?"

James smiled at her. "Thank you Hermione."

Sirius was a little more hesitant. He still was angry about the whole situation. He felt like he had nothing to apologize for except for not seeing her. Everything else he still felt the same about. "I am sorry Hermione for not coming to see you in the Hospital Wing. I am glad to see that you are okay." He left it at that. He had nothing else he could really say. He still felt it was Snape's fault and Hermione should stay away from him.

"Thank you James and Sirius for your apology. I'm sad you didn't come and see me though while I was there, but I accept your apology."

Remus said, "Don't forget you two have to apologize to Severus. You know for a fact it was not his fault. He didn't cause the injuries on her person."

James nodded in understanding, but Sirius crossed his arms in disgust. "I will not apologize to him. I have nothing to apologize for," he grumbled.

Lily glared at him in anger. "You are just mad because Hermione wants to be with Severus. You are jealous and it's clouding your judgment. Let Hermione be happy."

"I am not jealous of him. I just want her to be safe. You know he is dangerous and will hurt her," he replied.

Hermione couldn't reply or defend herself at all. Her memories still weren't there and she still didn't remember how their relationship started. What she did know was that she wasn't stupid. She can make her own choices. If she found something in Severus it was probably for the best. Before the fight can get any uglier she decided to speak up. "I appreciate your concern Sirius, but I can make my own choices. I know I don't remember much, but I know there is a reason why I chose Severus. He's a great man and no matter how angry or how much you fight it you know I am going to stay with him. If he does hurt me I will let you know, but for now stop this arguing for once. Just let it go Sirius."

"But Hermione you don't know what's best for you. He's a Slytherin and likes dark magic." He tried to defend himself and was grasping for straws at this rate.

"Not all Slytherin's are bad Sirius. Categorizing all Slytherin's as bad is wrong. Not all Gryffindor's are saints. Severus might not be perfect, but he cares for me. That's all I'm going to say about the situation. Now you can either continue to be angry and not apologize to him or get over yourself and do the right thing."

Breakfast ended and the five of them got up from the table. They approached Severus who was waiting by the entrance. Lily was the first to speak. "James and Sirius have something to say to you."

James said, "I apologize Snape for blaming you for her injuries. It wasn't your fault."

Sirius was again hesitant. He didn't want to, but his friends were waiting on him. He didn't want to lose Hermione as a friend either. "I guess I'm sorry too Snape. It wasn't your entire fault I guess."

As much as Severus wanted to forgive them he was also angry. "Thank you for your apology, but it's not me who you need to apologize to. You left Hermione in a hospital bed for 5 days and couldn't swallow down your ego to see her for one minute. What if she was dying? You two call each other her friend, but I don't think you really are. A real friend would have been there every day to see her like I was. You two should be ashamed of yourself. I don't care how you two feel about me because we both know we don't like each other, but you treating Hermione like that was absolutely disgusting." He turned to Lily and Remus and said, "Thank you Lily and Remus for coming to see her. I appreciate you being there with me and also being there for her when she was awake."

As much as Hermione wanted to stay and talk she knew she had to get to Dumbledore's office to get some more details and maybe clear up her memory. "I have to go meet with Dumbledore in his office. I'm sorry guys. I will meet with you all later okay?"

The four Gryffindor's said goodbye to her and Severus pulled her into a hug. She smiled at him and walked away. She walked down the hallway and reached the statue. She said the password and walked up the winding steps. She knocked on his door and was told to enter. She walked into his office and took the familiar seat in front of his desk.

"What brings you to my office?" The Headmaster asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"My memories are still not there Professor. I don't know why I am here. I was hoping maybe you can clear up some of that. Maybe it will jog my memory."

He smiled at her and said, "I don't know much Ms. Granger. You came here not knowing why you were here in the first place. The only thing you told me was you had to get close to Mr. Snape and become his friend. What I can tell you is you seem to be on the right path. You made friends with the right people and you did get close to Mr. Snape. Knowing my future self I think he would be happy that you and Mr. Snape are together. Actually I think that was the plan after all. Unfortunately though Ms. Granger you only have two weeks left until it is time for you to go back. With you being in the hospital it lost a lot of time between you and your friends."

"And I am in fact in love with Severus?" Hermione questioned. She had to be sure before she moved on with him. She knew she had to go find Severus and ask him questions too, but she needed to know this.

"You can only know the answer to that my dear, but yes I do believe that you love Mr. Snape and he loves you back. I can't help you answer questions regarding the two of you. You should go ask him yourself."

Hermione nodded in understanding. Some of her questions were answered and that was good enough for now. She stood up from the chair and thanked Professor Dumbledore. "I think I will go find Severus. Thank you for answering some of my questions Professor." She headed back down the stairs and went in search of him.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello everyone! Here is the next installment of** ** _Hermione's Future_** **. With only two weeks she will be going back soon. In this chapter Hermione gets some more answers to help her clear her memory. Don't forget to leave a review. I feel like I'm starting to lose some of you based on the amount of the reviews I've been getting. Any suggestions or ideas or constructive criticism is accepted. Anyway on to the next chapter.**

Hermione walked down the hallway heading to the library. She knew Severus would be in there waiting for her to show up. She wished Dumbledore had some more information for her, but I guess the less information he knows the better. With only having two weeks left and no memory of the last month and ½ Hermione felt lost. She felt like all her time was wasted here if she can't even remember it. She wanted to talk to Severus and see if he had any information about the two of them. She found him waiting in the library. She approached him with a big smile on her face. Together they decided to take a walk around the grounds since they had no class today. They held hands and headed out of the library and toward the front of the castle. "I hope you don't get hurt by this Severus, but can you tell me how we started dating?"

He smiled at the memory of their first Quidditch game together. "I asked you to go to the Quidditch game with me. It was Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. We made a bet on the game on who would win. I ended up winning the bet and the bet was that you would kiss me. You ended up actually kissing me and I kissed you back. We then decided to go to Hogsmeade together and at the Three Broomsticks I told you that this was all a lame plan to tell you that I liked you. You didn't think it was lame and we ended up kissing again, which sealed our relationship. Ever since that day we've been together."

"What do we do when we are together?"

"We hang out in the library a lot. We work side by side and we love to read together. We also go to Hogsmeade together a lot when we have special weekends. I took you out flying once on my broom. That was a fun day."

"No way did I fly," Hermione said shocked. "I'm terrified of flying."

"Not with me you weren't. You actually enjoyed it and it's one of my fondest memories. We sometimes hang out with your friends too, but it gets kind of awkward sometimes." They headed out of the castle and started walking through the grounds.

Hermione didn't want to end the conversation about the two of them, but she knew she needed to know what happen that caused her to be in the hospital wing. "Why was I in the hospital Wing Severus?"

He sighed and said, "It all started the day of the Quidditch match we saw. We were walking back to the castle from Hogsmeade when Rodolphus Lestrange and Regulus Black attacked us. We fought them and we ended up winning. We escaped. Ever since then the two wanted their revenge. They found you alone in the hallway heading to breakfast. You woke up late and everyone was already at breakfast. They attacked you. They used the cruciatus curse on you multiple times and casted a spell on you to carve a nasty word on your arm. I can't tell you the rest of the details because I wasn't there until after the fact."

"What is going to happen to them?" Hermione questioned. She was nervous about their fate. I know that sounds crazy, but if she changed the past a little bit who knows what can happen to the future. She knew they needed some kind of punishment but to expel them can be too much of a change. They wouldn't be here for Severus at school after she left.

"I overheard Dumbledore talking to Madam Pomfrey. Supposedly they will be expelled from school and be given to their parents since they are under age still. That is the only thing he can do. You know they can't stay here at Hogwarts anymore Hermione no matter how many detentions or punishments they get. They are a danger to the other students."

She bit her lip. Knowing that Dumbledore already had it set in rolling she couldn't change the fact that they will be expelled from school. She also felt a little relieved. She no longer had to walk around the castle in fear. She no longer had to walk around Hogsmeade and get attacked. This was the right thing.

Severus saw the look on her face and scoffed. "Don't feel bad for them Hermione. They deserved what they got. They might've been my friends at one point, but once they targeted you I stopped being their friend. They nearly killed you Hermione and I am glad that they are expelled."

She made her face neutral and said, "I guess you're right Severus. It's a shame that it had to come to this though, but I feel a lot safer now. Thank you for being there for me."

"Of course Hermione. I'll always be there for you." He pulled her closer to him and walked her over to their designated tree. They both sat down against the trunk and stared out into the lake. "I hope you get your memories back soon Hermione."

"I do too Severus. I'm sorry if I'm asking too many questions. I'm just trying to get all the details."

"It's fine Hermione. I'll answer as many questions as you have for me. If it brings back anything then I'll keep talking."

Hermione smiled and said, "How was our first meeting?"

"Professor Slughorn made us partners in class so you ended up sitting next to me. I was mean at first. I didn't trust you to help me make a potion. I have perfect marks and I didn't want to lose points because of some silly girl trying to help. You yelled at me and told me to get off my high horse and let you work with me. We worked together on the potion and it ended up turning out perfect as usual. You were the one who suggested that we be friends and I accepted it. So I say our first meeting went really well."

"So we've been friends ever since?"

"Yes. You are my best friend and only friend now Hermione."

Hermione frowned in sadness. She felt bad that she didn't remember their friendship. He was so nice to her and she felt bad that she didn't feel the same. She couldn't remember any of the details and he was counting on her to get them back. Obviously he was nothing like his future self which made her worried about what happen to him to make him so angry and spiteful. Was it something that she did? She took her mind off that and instead asked, "Are you friends with the Marauders?"

"Friends isn't the term I would use but I try to be civil because I know they're your friends. Lily and Remus like me and have been trying to make amends with me. James and Sirius will never be friends with me though and I don't need them to be. I don't want to be friends with people who bullied me and then not even come and see you."

"They bullied you?"Hermione said concerned.

"I forgot you don't remember me telling you this, but yes they bullied me throughout my Hogwarts years. They were jealous of my friendship with Lily. She was my friend first back before school even stared. We used to hang out all the time, but James didn't like it. James wanted her so him and Sirius always fought me and bullied me. One day I lost my friendship with Lily because I said something hurtful. James had me hanging upside down in front of everybody. He pulled down my pants and everyone saw it. I was embarrassed and Lily tried to help, but I felt even more embarrassed because it was her. I called her a mudblood. She ended up never talking to me again until you arrived. I never meant what I said and you ended up forgiving me and actually helped forge Lily and I's friendship in a way. Now I got a question for you Hermione. A few days ago at the Hospital Wing you were asking all of us where two boys were named Harry and Ron. Who are they?"

Hermione swallowed nervously. She was hoping that no one would remember that she said that and she couldn't feign ignorance. "I was confused when I woke up Severus. When I saw you I thought of my old friends back at home. When I go to Beauxbaton I missed them a lot because obviously they can't go with me. Only girls are aloud at Beauxbaton and they were the only two friends that I knew that were wizards where I lived. They ended up going to Durmstrang Institute. Now that I am at Hogwarts and we moved away I miss them even more. We send letters a lot to each other though to see how we are." She hoped that that was enough to keep him satisfied. She realized that it was dumb of her to say they were at Beauxbaton. It wasn't possible and at least this story made more sense.

He said, "What were they like?"

Hermione sighed with relief. He believed her. He had no other reason why he shouldn't. "Well Harry is like a brother to me. He's a little headstrong and hard headed, but he's a great guy. He's great at Quidditch. He plays as a seeker. He's average at being smart, but he's always been there for me and I'll always be there for them. Ron is a different story. Ron is hilarious and funny. He hates anything academic and he too just recently got put on the Quidditch team as the keeper. We actually dated once, but it was awkward and he moved on with another girl."

"He's an idiot then. I don't see why he would dump you. You are beautiful and you are everything a man wishes to be with."

She smiled and said, "Thank you Severus, but really it wasn't working out for both of us and when I saw him with that girl I knew it was better for me to just move on. He's still my friend though and will always be my friend."

"Maybe one day I can meet them."

She laughed and said, "Maybe you will." _You will end up hating them though once you do._


	16. Chapter 16

**I apologize for the long wait. If you didn't know outside of this I teach Kindergarten and it took me awhile to find time to write this chapter. Anyway again I would like to thank all my followers and people who have favorited it. I also would like to thank all of my reviewers. Hopefully this chapter was worth the long wait. The next chapter should come out much quicker after this because I know where I want to take the next one. Enjoy the chapter!**

Hermione's memories were slowly coming back. Usually after losing your memories from the overuse of the cruciatus curse they don't come back, but the more she was around her friends and Severus her mind has become clearer. She now understood why she loved Severus so much. Since she's been here for almost two months that meant that the Yule Ball was coming. The timeline was right in place. She was leaving right before the Holidays. She was sad that she didn't get to enjoy the Holidays with Severus, but she also understood the reason why. Because of the Yule ball next Saturday Hermione and Lily decided to go shopping in Hogsmeade for their dresses. Hermione met up with Lily in the front of the Great Hall and headed out the door.

"What color are you looking for?" Lily asked.

"I am not sure. The last dance I went to at Ho- I mean Beauxbaton I wore a blue dress." She replied. She almost slipped and said Hogwarts. She nearly kicked herself for that mistake. She had to remember the story that was in place.

"Blue is nice, but I like something more girly. Possibly a light pink. We will see what they have once we get there. What did you tell Severus?"

"I told him I needed some girl time with you. He ended up having some work to do anyway, but he will probably spend a lot of his time cooped up in the library knowing him." Hermione hoped he would get out though and hang out with her friends, but she knew that wasn't going to happen. Severus liked being left alone with a good book, unless Remus ended up hanging out with him.

"I don't know why he likes being alone. I understand his love for books but you can't read all the time," Lily replied. "Maybe he should hang out with someone."

"Yeah like Remus maybe, but Remus will probably end up hanging with James and Sirius. Hopefully they don't catch us buying dresses in Hogsmeade. Do you think Remus is going to get a date?" Hermione asked.

Lily sighed and said, "Knowing Remus he probably will just end up going with us. He hasn't had a date or even a girlfriend since he first came to Hogwarts. He's too shy to ask people and honestly I haven't seen him really like other girls. Sirius will end up going with multiple girls and James of course will go with me."

"Multiple girls? Are you serious?" Hermione said appalled.

Lily laughed and said, "It happens all the time with him. He can't choose just one so he ends up asking both. He walks in with both of them on his arm and actually dances with both. They both don't seem to have a problem with it, which I don't get, but I am not them."

They finally made it to Hogsmeade. They walked down the cobblestone street and passed by Honeydukes and The Three Broomsticks. Where they were going was a brand new store that just opened a little further away. The reasoning for this store opening was to help students buy dresses for special occasions if they didn't buy one at Diagon Alley. They reached the front entrance of the store. In the front was a big white sign that said Sweet Pea Boutique in pink letters. All over the sign were also pink polka dots. It looked like a store Professor Umbridge would shop in but together they decided to walk inside and see what they had. Right as they walked in a door bell sound went off and they smelled the overwhelming scent of perfume. They slowly inched themselves more into the store and headed to one of the racks. They were looking through the dresses when Hermione saw the price on one of them.

She winced and whispered to Lily, "Um Lily we can't afford this."

Lily looked at the price she was pointing to and instantly put the dress back on the hook that was in her hand. "Well maybe there's something around this store that we can buy," Lily whispered back.

They went to the next rack and got the same results. They felt silly being in this kind of store when the other people shopping obviously had a lot of money. They didn't want to give up though. As a last resort they saw a rack with a sign that said clearance. They quickly ran to it and started looking through the dresses. The more they looked the more disappointed they got. "Maybe we should try somewhere else Lily," Hermione said sadly.

Lily picked up a dress from the rack. The price was semi decent and was closer to how much they had. "What do you think of this? I know it might not be perfect and a little bit more than what we wanted to pay, but it seems like this is all they have. We can always change the length or color of it with a spell."

Hermione looked at the dress and didn't like the sleeves. She looked down at her arm in sadness. She knew she shouldn't feel subconscious about it but she didn't want to broadcast it to the whole school that she had an ugly word carved into her arm.

"We can always transfigure sleeves Hermione. It was just a suggestion," Lily said reassuringly.

"Do you really think we can make sleeves that match the dress without making it look awkward?" Hermione asked.

Lily smiled at her and said, "Of course I do, plus you got to admit the dress is kind of cute Whatever you wear you know Severus will still think you're the prettiest one there no matter what."

Hermione smiled at that. Lily really was a good friend. She always knew what to say to cheer her up. "Okay Lily. I will buy the dress. I really do like the bottom of the dress and the length works well. The color I'm not a fan of, but we can fix that as you said. I think I found my dress."

The two of them walked up to the counter and gave the dress to the balding man behind the register. He rang up the dress and said, "That will be 10 galleons and 2 sickles Miss."

Hermione winced slightly at the prize. Even with the price cut it was more money then she would ever spend on a dress or clothes at home. With a sigh Hermione counted out 10 galleons and 2 sickles from her coin purse and handed it to the man. The man smiled at her in thanks and put her dress in a gift box and bagged it up for her. Hermione grabbed the bag from him and walked out the store with Lily next to her. Hermione made her bag small and put it in her pocket so she didn't have to carry it back the whole way.

"That was a lot of money Lily. I don't know if I should have bought it for that much," Hermione said.

"Well ask Severus for some cash. He might have some," Lily suggested.

"Don't be absurd. We both know Severus comes from not a well off family," Hermione replied.

"Well he did used to sell his notes to a lot of the Slytherins. I heard he has some extra cash stowed away."

"Even if he did Lily I am not going to go to him for money. We may be dating, but I can buy my own things," Hermione replied with a little snap to her voice.

"I was only making a suggestion James has a lot of money from his family and so does Sirius. If I ever need something they always offer it to me."

They both left it at that knowing there was no point of arguing. Obviously Lily was more willing to "borrow" money from others, while Hermione liked relying on herself. She was an independent woman and didn't need anybody's help.

"Do you want to stop and get a butter beer before we head back?" Lily asked as they nearly got to the Three Broomsticks.

"I can definitely go for a butter beer right now. Let us go," Hermione replied in eagerness. Every time she went to Hogsmeade she had to get a butter beer. They don't get to go often but when they do it was always worth the trip to stop here.

They walked into the pub and saw their friends were already there. James, Sirius, Remus, and even Severus were all sitting at a table with a butter beer in hand. Hermione smiled hugely when she saw Severus actually decided to go with them, which meant that they had invited him. The two approached their table and pulled up a chair next to their significant other.

Severus smiled at Hermione and said, "I missed you today. Did you get what you were looking for?"

"Yes I did thank you. I see that you decided to take a break from your work. Who invited you?" Hermione asked with a smile.

"Remus did actually. He found me in the library reading a book and he wanted to know if I wanted to go out with them. I decided to take into consideration what you said about your friends and I'm giving it a chance."

Hermione kissed him on the cheek in thanks and turned towards Remus. "Thank you Remus for inviting him. He definitely needed a break from reading. I'm glad you two are starting to become friends." She turned towards James and Sirius and said, "Now how about you two? Do you still have a problem with him?"

James and Sirius stared down at their butter beer in embarrassment. In all seriousness they were starting to like him. He wasn't the Death Eater bastard as he portrayed even if he was a Slytherin. James was the first to speak. "You were right Hermione. We didn't realize how much Severus meant to you and I'm sorry if we came off as jerks." James turned to Severus and said, "I don't do this often Snape, but can we let this fight between us come to an end? I realized how much of an pillock I've been and I just wanted to say I'm sorry." James elbowed Sirius sharply when he didn't say anything to Severus.

Sirius sighed and said with a little reluctance, "I am sorry Snape for how I've acted. I thought you were a bad influence on Hermione and I realized I was only looking out for myself." He didn't go any further than that. For Sirius that was enough. At least he attempted to apologize and to Hermione that was enough for her.

Severus gave them a small smile and said, "Thank you for your apology. I can tell you now that from my side I am done fighting with you. I care for Hermione too much to ruin that. I hope you two mean what you say." He chose his words carefully. He didn't say he accepted it, but he knew he had to make a good effort towards mending their relationship.

The six of them continued to enjoy their butter beer as the day went on. As they walked back to the castle Hermione put her hand in Severus's. "Thank you for making an effort back there. I know it was difficult for you, but I really do appreciate you trying."

"I did it for you Hermione. I might not exactly like your friends, but if we are to be together I will make an effort, plus I really do need more friends after the two friends I had turned into jerks."

"I love you Severus so much. I'm glad I met you." She hugged him tightly to her and walked the rest of the way with her head on his shoulder.


	17. Chapter 17

**As promised this chapter came out early. We are about to reach the time where Hermione will be going back, but don't worry. This story isn't over yet. I still got a lot of chapters to go, including how things will pan out for Hermione and Severus. This one is kind of a sad one, but it had to be done. Enjoy!**

Today was the day of the Yule Ball, which meant tomorrow was her last day here. Hermione didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay here even if it meant not seeing Harry and Ron again, but she knew she had no choice. Instead she was focusing on the dance tonight and having a good time with her friends before she had to leave tomorrow. She stared at the new transformed dress that she bought just last week at Hogsmeade. It was absolutely beautiful. As Lily promised it now had long sleeves and they ended up changing the color to a nice sparkly gray. She also had flats that matched. She sat down in front of her vanity mirror and stared at her reflection. She was contemplating how she wanted her hair and makeup to look like for the dance. She wanted something subtle. She started on her lips. She added light pink lipstick to her lips. Red was too flashy and any other color just wouldn't do. She was happy with the color and moved on to her face. She started off on patting blush on the tip of her cheekbones. She slowly blended it into her face and found it to look exactly what she wanted. She didn't want too much on her face and she didn't want to add any color. She moved to her eyes and picked up her eyeliner pencil. She started to apply her eye liner. She started from the outer corner of the eye and then finished it towards the inner eye. She repeated the same process with her other eye. She lastly picked up her mascara. She slowly brushed it across her eyelashes and made them elongate. She looked into the mirror and found her makeup to be exactly what she wanted. She wasn't wearing much and there was no crazy colors added. Overall, it looked natural and she couldn't wait to show Severus. She moved on to her hair. Her hair unfortunately was another story. She wasn't blessed with pretty hair and just recently in the last few years she finally found a way to tame it. She pumped two squirts of her sleek easy gel and curled it into her hair. She grabbed her brush and slowly brushed through her hair. Her frizzy hair turned into soft curls at the touch of the brush and it framed her face nicely. She stood up from her chair and slipped on her dress. She stepped into her shoes and slowly twirled in front of the mirror. She nodded at herself and headed out of her room. She was confident in her appearance and she couldn't wait to show it off. She walked down the steps and walked into Gryffindor's common room. The Marauders and Lily looked up at her when they heard her enter. They all couldn't believe how stunning she was. The dress really did flatter her and the makeup was a nice touch.

"You look great!" Lily said enthusiastically. Thanks to her handiwork the dress came out perfectly. It was just above the knee and the sleeves added another aspect to her dress. Overall, it looked perfect on her.

"Thank you Lily for helping me with the dress. I couldn't have done it without you." Hermione hugged her friend in thanks. She pulled away and looked at what Lily was wearing. Lily was wearing a dark pink dress that nearly touched the floor. She was right. Pink was the right color for her. "You look beautiful Lily." She turned towards the three Marauders and smiled at their suits. The three of them each wore the same color suit but with a different color tie. "You three look very handsome."

The three of them all thanked her for her compliments and Sirius smirked at her. "So you think I'm handsome do you Kitten?"

She glared at him and said, "Stop calling me that and yes you clean up quite nice actually." She understood why a lot of girls liked him, but she wasn't one of them.

Sirius smiled at her and said, "You should've asked me to the ball kitten. I would've gladly taken you instead."

She rolled her eyes and didn't take his bait. After being here two months she was used to his comments and the faces he made at her. The five of them walked out of the common room and headed to the Great Hall for the Yule Ball. Lily walked arm and arm with James and Hermione couldn't wait to see Severus. They reached the Great Hall at the front of the school and Hermione saw Severus waiting for her nervously. Sirius approached his two dates who were also waiting outside the doors. He threw both his arms around them and walked into the ball with a smirk on his face. James and Lily bid their goodbyes to Hermione and walked into the Yule Ball together. Remus waved goodbye to Hermione and Severus and walked into the Ball alone.

Severus smiled shyly at Hermione and said, "You look beautiful Hermione." He took out his arm for her to take.

She smiled at him and took his arm. Together the two of them walked into the Yule Ball. The room was beautifully decorated and in the back of the room was a stage with a band playing. It was absolutely perfect. Severus pulled her over to the refreshment table.

"Do you want a glass of punch?" He asked once they got to the table. "You better get some now before somebody spikes it," he said seriously.

She giggled and said, "Does that happen often here?" _It sure does in my present. Things don't change much with time do they?_

"Unfortunately yes it does, but by the end of the nigh it's hilarious to watch people stagger around." Severus handed her a glass of punch and made himself one too. The two stood there sipping their drinks and watched everyone dance around the room. "You ready to dance Hermione?"

She grabbed his hand and they walked out onto the dance floor. She put her hand on his and he wrapped his arm around her waist. Her other hand rested on his shoulder. The music began to play again and off they danced on the dance floor. They stepped in time to the music and at one point Severus dipped her and pulled her back up. He was a natural at dancing and Hermione couldn't help but have a big silly grin on her face. He twirled her around the room and he only had eyes for her. When the dance ended he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her lips. She didn't want to stop kissing him at this moment, but she knew it would be awkward in public for other people. She pulled away and said, "You really are a natural at dancing Severus. I didn't know how good you are."

"I told you I've been practicing just for this day. I didn't want to come out and look like a fool. I know how good James and Sirius were and I didn't want them to think I couldn't dance. Do you want to keep dancing?"

Hermione smiled as the music picked up again. This time it was a fast dance. She quickly put her arms around him and off they started to dance again. They stepped to the music and she was twirled around the room again. She wasn't thinking about tomorrow and she didn't want it to end. He dipped her again and picked her back up. They continued to dance until Hermione expressed she needed a break. They walked over to the sitting area and took a seat. Severus had his arm wrapped around her shoulder. James and Lily approached them and took a seat next to them.

"Are you having fun Hermione?" asked Lily.

"I am thank you. How are you and James doing?"

"We are having a great time. Sirius unfortunately snuck in some booze and poured it into the punch, but he does that every year," James said with a grin.

"Did you notice Remus actually found a girl to dance with?" Lily said.

Hermione looked out on the dance floor and saw Remus spinning around a blonde headed girl. She smiled slightly at them dancing, but she knew in the end Remus would end up with somebody else. At least he found someone to dance with and wasn't left alone. "Sirius looks ridiculous doesn't he?" Hermione said with a laugh. Her eyes landed on Sirius and saw him dancing with one girl and then spinning himself around to dance with the other. It looked absolutely horrid, but to her surprise all three had grins on their faces.

"He does, but he's having fun. He probably won't be back up in the common room until the wee hours of the morning or until the two girls get tired of his jokes," Lily said jokingly.

Hermione smiled at Lily sadly. She was going to miss her when she had to leave tomorrow. She hoped she got a chance to hang with them before she left, but she knew Dumbledore would want to keep it short. The longer she stayed the harder it was going to be. She wished there was a way to save them or at least warn them of what was going to happen, but she knew she couldn't which was the hardest part for her. The more she was around them the more her heart ached. Her eyes landed on Remus again. She felt bad for him. All these years he would lose his four best friends including Peter. He would be left alone and believe that Sirius was really a traitor all along. It was so hard for her to not say anything to either one of them. Not even Severus could know, plus they would probably all think she was crazy for saying she was from the future. She shook her head to clear it. She should be having fun tonight not dwelling on the future. It already happen and there was nothing she could do to change it.

"Can we dance again?" she asked Severus with a fake smile.

He stood up and took her hand. "Let's go! The band is starting to pick up again."

"How long do you want to stay here Severus?" She really didn't want to leave early. She wanted to stay here and dance all night. As she danced it kept her mind off sad thoughts and made her think of Severus. She knew that once they stopped dancing and kissed each other goodnight that she would go back to her room and cry thinking of how much time she wished she had.

He smiled down at her as they danced and said, "As long as you want Hermione. We can stay here until they tell us to go to bed or we can end it now. Anything you want is yours."

She smiled with tears swimming in her eyes. "I want to stay all night Severus. I love dancing with you," she said with a crack in her voice.

Severus watched as a tear streamed down her face. He reached up wiped it away with his thumb. "Why are you crying Hermione?" he asked worriedly.

"You are so good to me Severus. I don't deserve your kindness or your love. Thank you for being here for me." She hugged him to her tightly and buried her face into his shoulder so he didn't see her tears anymore. She didn't want him to really delve into her mind and see why she was sad. She knew present Severus was a master legilimency and she didn't want to find out how good he was now.

He held her to him and gently rocked her as they danced. He didn't understand her tears, but he had no reason to suspect her to be lying to him. They continued to dance the rest of the night until the wee hours of the morning. As Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bid all the students goodnight he leaned down and kissed Hermione passionately. Hermione again didn't want to pull away, but she reluctantly released his lips. She went right up the stairs to her common room and Severus went left down to the dungeons. Hermione couldn't help but feel this was a goodbye as she kept on walking up the stairs.


	18. Chapter 18

**Here is the next chapter! It's the longest chapter I have written yet. This is her last day in the past. It is again another sad one. I hope you all enjoy. Please don't forget to leave a review.**

It was nearly 6 in the morning and Hermione been awake all night ever since the dance ended. She stared down at her finished letter with tears in her eyes. All over the letter was tear stains from when she started crying. She knew she couldn't actually tell them goodbye but she could leave a note. It was short and sweet and just let them know that she was fine. She made up a story about her parents getting a new job again and having to move to the Americas. It was the only believable story that made sense. She was starting to fold up the letter and put it in the envelope when she heard a pecking sound at the window. She got up from her desk and approached the window. She opened the window and saw an owl standing on the window sill with a letter clasped in its beak. She took the letter from the owl and watched as the owl flew away and back where it originally came from. She closed the windows and looked down at the letter. It had her name on it and she instantly knew it was Dumbledore. No one else would write a note to her especially this early in the morning. She opened the letter and began to read.

 _Dear Ms. Granger,_

 _Today is the day my dear. I am sorry if this seems a little fast, but your time is slowly starting to run out. Everyone at this school today is either going to leave for the Holidays or stay here. Unfortunately my dear I had to think about when I should have you leave. Your friends would ask where you went. I think the best time would have to be right after breakfast. So when your friends ask where you are going for the Holidays this morning you need to tell them that you are going home, but you first have to meet with me. I am not sure what to do with Mr. Snape though. He hasn't gone home for the Holidays since his 5_ _th_ _year at Hogwarts and I doubt he'll start up again now. Maybe he will end up leaving if he knows that you are going home. If he decides to stay here you need to make sure that he doesn't follow you to my office. Also, please make sure you don't say anything to your friends that can lead them to knowing anything. As always enjoy your last day here at Hogwarts. I look forward to seeing you again in the future._

 _Best,_

 _Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry_

She glared down at the letter not happy with what he told her. She wanted all day not just a few hours with them. She looked at her clock and saw it strike 6:00 AM. In about 3 hours she would be leaving. That wasn't enough time and she knew she couldn't ask for more. It was unfair, but she knew she agreed to do this. She gloomily headed to the showers knowing there was no point of doing anything else. She finished her letter and she couldn't try to get an hour of sleep in anyway. She finished getting ready for the day and she put her note in her pocket. She planned on giving it to Dumbledore so he can give it to Severus after she was gone. It sounded callous, but she knew there was no other way. If she sent the letter now he would come and find her. If she sent it while she was still in the castle at all he would probably try and stop her from leaving. At least he would know that she was safe and she thought of him. She walked down the stairs and walked into an empty common room. Obviously no one would be up yet. It was far too early, especially after staying up all night dancing. She took a seat in the big comfy arm chair and picked up her favorite book _Hogwarts: A History._ She sat and read through the book as she waited for everyone to start rousing awake. It took until the clock finally chimed 7:00 for people to start showing up in the common room. The students she saw were not any of her friends so she continued to bury her nose into her book and wait a little longer. After all they still had an hour before breakfast. Once the clock got to 7:30 she saw Lily and Remus come out of their rooms. She smiled at them and said, "Good morning. I was wondering when you two would wake up." She closed the book and put it back on the table.

They smiled at her and said in unison, "Good morning Hermione."

"Do you know when James and Sirius will come down?" Hermione asked.

Remus laughed and said, "They will most likely end up late for breakfast. They both drank a little too much punch last night and are nursing a hangover, especially Sirius. Sirius loves to drink that stuff and James follows along with his antics. I wouldn't worry too much about them."

She nodded in understanding. "Are you guys staying or going home for the Holidays?"

Lily smiled and said, "I'm going back home with James actually. His family invited me over because James and I decided to take the next step of our relationship." She flashed her ring at Hermione with a huge grin on her face.

Hermione said, "Oh Lily I'm so happy for you." She stood up and hugged Lily tightly. It was honestly hard to be happy for Lily. Of course she was happy that they were getting married, but it was bittersweet knowing they weren't going to last very long and she wouldn't even be there for their wedding.

Lily broke the hug and said, "Will you be my maid of honor?"

Hermione knew she should say no. She wouldn't even be there for their wedding, but Lily kept looking at her waiting for her to give her an answer. "Yes Lily I'll be your maid of honor," she responded with a fake smile on her lips.

When the clock chimed at 8:00 the three of them walked out of the common room and to the Great Hall. They sat down at the Gryffindor table and began to eat. Hermione looked over at the Slytherin table and saw Severus smiling at her. She gave him a weak smile back at him. She dreaded leaving. She only had until breakfast was over to say goodbye. She felt Remus tapping her out of her revere. She looked at Remus and said, "I'm sorry what were you saying?"

"You never said what you were doing for the Holidays? Are you staying or going home?"

"I'm going home to my parents. How about you?"

Remus frowned and said, "I'll be staying here for the Holidays unfortunately, but that's okay. It won't be for very long and there is bound to be other people staying back."

"Severus is going to stay here during the Holidays too, so if you need someone to hang with you always got him," she suggested.

He smiled and said, "That's a great idea actually. We aren't exactly friends yet, but you don't think he'll mind hanging out with me?"

"I think so. He'll be left alone with no one to talk to except letters from me of course," She quickly added. "But yes I don't see why he wouldn't want you to hang out with him. Give him a chance Remus."

Half way through breakfast James and Sirius walked into the Great Hall. They sat down at the table next to Lily. Each of them were grasping their head and looked absolutely dreadful.

"Congratulations James on your engagement," Hermione said in greeting.

"Thanks Hermione," he muttered obviously still in pain.

Remus said, "Maybe next time you two won't drink that much. You two barely made it back to the room last night."

Sirius smirked and said, "I had fun though."

The rest of breakfast went as usual. Everyone was talking about their Holiday plans and the Great Hall really was buzzing loudly from people's excitement. Everyone was looking forward to the Holidays, but Hermione. The more she sat and talked with them the more anxious she felt. Everyone else around her continued to talk while she just sat there sadly moving her food around from one side of her plate to the other.

Dumbledore approached the podium once breakfast was over and said, "I would like to make an announcement. It has been a great year so far here at Hogwarts. To the ones who are leaving for the Holidays may you all have safe travels and I will see you once class resumes. To the ones who are staying I hope you enjoy your time here over the Holidays. Hogwarts will always welcome students who need to stay for the Holidays. Have a great Holiday everyone and you may all get ready to board to the train and make your way home." Dumbledore caught her eye and nodded his head at her giving her the cue to come and meet him once she said her goodbyes.

Everyone stood up from the table and headed to the front doors. Severus met up with them and hugged Hermione in greeting. "Good morning Hermione."

She smiled at him and said, "Good morning Severus." Now was the time to say goodbye. She couldn't stand here any longer hearing them all talk "I apologize everyone, but Dumbledore wanted me to meet him in his office. He said it was something regarding my parents. If I don't see you all later have a good Holiday." She hugged Remus, Lily, James, and Sirius goodbye. The four all hugged her back tightly.

Severus said, "Can I walk you there then Hermione?" He looked at her hopefully.

Hermione knew she should say no. It was dangerous to have him come with her and then wait outside the doors. Her heart overpowered her judgment and she told him he can. Hermione watched as the four Gryffindors walked up the stairs to their common room to get ready to go. Her heart filled with sadness when she realized she would never get to see 3 of the 4 ever again. She mustered up all her courage and turned to Severus with a fake smile. "Alright Severus we can go now." The two of them walked to Dumbledore's office hand in hand. When they got to the statue she turned to him and said, "Thank you for walking me to Dumbledore's office Severus. Don't wait up for me. It sounds pretty serious and he warned it will take a long time. If I don't see you before I leave for the Holidays you have a good Holiday. I love you Severus. Always remember that." She pulled him into a tight hug. Her arms didn't want to let him go. Even with all her courage tears started falling from her eyes.

He heard her sniffle and he pulled her away to look at her face. "What's wrong Hermione?"

"I'm just worried about my parents. Dumbledore didn't specify what was going on, but it doesn't sound any good. I got to go and see what he wants."

"If you can try to find me before you leave Hermione. I want to know what he said. I love you Hermione." He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. The kiss went on forever and Hermione slowly pulled away.

"Bye Severus. I will see you when I get back." In a way it wasn't a lie. She would see him when she got back just not as a student. She started up the stairs and looked back at him once. She watched as he walked away a long with her heart. She reached the door and she knocked on the door. She heard Dumbledore say enter and she walked in and sat in the chair in front of his desk.

He smiled at her and said, "How are you feeling Ms. Granger?"

She glared at him and said, "You know how I feel Professor. I don't want to go. I want to stay here." After bottling up all her emotions to her friends they came pouring out of her. "It's not fair Professor. When I go back to my present the only friend left is Remus. I don't get to see Lily or James or Sirius ever again. It's so hard to not say anything to them. Lily got engaged last night and I feel so bad for her because she's so ecstatic, but she doesn't know what is going to happen. Severus probably won't ever talk to me ever again and I think I finally get why I was sent back here."

"What do you think the reason is Hermione?"

"You sent me back here to hurt Severus. That is the only reason why I would be sent back. If not to change anything then that must be it. I hate being used as bait. If I knew that me going back would hurt him I wouldn't have went. I love him Professor. I love him more than I ever thought I would. He is a great man and I hope you remember that in the future." Hermione reached up and wiped the tears from her eyes. It hurt knowing that she was used.

"I apologize Hermione, but you know this was for the greater good. You can still patch your relationship up with Mr. Snape if you try."

"Not with the way he is now Professor. He hates me and now I understand why he does," she said quietly as more tears fell from her eyes.

Dumbledore handed her a tissue and said, "You never know my dear if you don't try. I am sorry if this seems callous, but it's about that time for you to head back." He handed her a time turner and she reluctantly put it around her. "You have to turn it forward 20 times and then 2 half turns. Come see me in the future when you are ready."

She went into her pocket and took out the letter she wrote. "Can you please give this to Severus once I leave? It doesn't give anything away, but I don't want him to think I didn't think of him."

Dumbledore took it from her and said with a sad smile, "Once you leave I will have my owl send it right to him."

She took one last look around the office and slowly looked back at the door she came from. She reluctantly started to turn the time turner. Once she got through turning it she watched as time went by fast in front of her. She closed her eyes and started to make a wish. Her wish was that Severus would forgive her for what she had done.


	19. Chapter 19

**I was going to wait until tomorrow to post this but here it is anyway. I know you all wanted to see what happen when Hermione got back to the future, but I can't just leave young Severus alone. I'm going to write a few chapters that will lead up to Hermione going back. In this chapter it follows directly after Hermione left. I know some of you wanted Severus to make friends with the Marauders, but that's not really his character now is it? We all know he wouldn't be hanging with any of them if it wasn't for Hermione. Anyway I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thank you so much to all the reviews I got on the last chapter. I really do appreciate it! On to the next chapter.**

After Hermione went up the stairs to Dumbledore's office Severus Snape walked back to his common room slowly. He didn't understand why Dumbledore needed her right this second, but he kept on walking. Once he got inside his common room he started thinking about Hermione. He was worried about her. He hoped that things would work out for her with her parents and Dumbledore. She didn't make it sound very good and the way she was acting made him nervous. He hoped nothing happen to them and that she would be okay. If she needed him he would be there for her. To keep his mind off of it and not make himself go crazy waiting he picked up a book and stared to read. Half way through the first chapter he saw one of the first years approach him. He slowly lowered the book and looked at the boy with interest. He was tiny for his age and had brown hair that covered his eyes. He was looking at him nervously and clasped in his hand was a letter. "What do you want Ramsey?" Severus asked in a gruff voice. He was wary of other people in his house. Everyone avoided him, which included the new students. Of course part of it was his own fault, but he liked being alone.

Ramsey said nervously, "Hi um you're Snape right? Professor Dumbledore asked to give this to you. It's a letter addressed to you." He handed the letter to Severus and quickly ran up to his rooms to get away from him.

Severus watched as he ran away with a sigh. He never understood why people ran from him so fast. He wasn't going to hurt anybody. _Probably because of the books you read,_ he thought. He looked down at the letter and saw his name written neatly in script writing. He knew it wasn't Dumbledore's writing. He opened the letter and saw at the very bottom it was from Hermione. He instantly started to absorb the words in the letter.

 _Dear Severus,_

 _Dumbledore told me that my parents have changed jobs again and we are now moving to a different Country farther away. They got a great job in the Americas and unfortunately I have to move. I am sorry Severus that it had to be this way. I love you so much. If I had known sooner I would have let you known. Stay strong Severus and don't do anything drastic. Stay friends with the Marauders. They don't mean any harm and they are good friends if you give them a chance. Remus wants to be your friend and so does Lily. I promise we will meet again Severus. Don't give up hope. You do have people that care for you. I love you with all my heart Severus. You are my love and will always be. When we see each other again don't forget that Severus._

 _Forever Yours,_

 _Hermione_

Severus felt tears blur his vision. _How can she do this to me?_ _I loved her with all my heart. She was my everything. Did I do something to push her away? Did we move too fast? Did my friends scare her off?_ His sadness quickly turned to anger. He stood up quickly from his chair nearly knocking it over. He stomped out of the common room and walked down the hallway. It was hopeless, but he was hoping she would still be here somewhere in the castle. His pace got quicker and so did his tears. He angrily rubbed his eyes as he walked. He nearly ran into the four Marauders.

Sirius called out to him, "Snape where's Hermione? We haven't seen her since breakfast. We have to board the train soon. We wanted to see if we can say one last goodbye."

He turned to them and they could tell that he had been crying. "Leave me alone!" His voice was filled with anguish and Lily knew there was something wrong.

Lily said, "What's wrong Severus?"

He glared down at the letter. His response to her question was answered by him balling it up and throwing it at her in anger.

Lily reached down at the floor and picked it up. She unraveled the ball and tried to flatten out the paper. She started to read it to herself and when she was finished she looked at James in sadness. "She left the school. She is no longer here," she said forlornly.

James said, "Why didn't she tell us?"

Severus said hurtfully, "Because she doesn't care. It's all a fallacy. If she really liked or loved anyone of us she would have told us she was leaving."

Lily turned to him and said, "Severus you know that is not true. Hermione adores you. She probably had no choice or maybe she found out in short notice."

Severus shouted, "I wanted to kiss her goodbye or at least give her a damn hug. She couldn't even give me that. Two months of this gone to waste." He pulled the letter from Lily's hands and ripped it in two. He mumbled, "Her words aren't worth the ink that was used." He turned and started to walk back the way he came from. His heart cracked in two and he knew it would take years for it to heal.

Lily called to him, "Severus wait."

Severus turned to them and shouted, "I am done Lily and all of you Marauders. You guys treated me like crap before Hermione came and now you will continue to treat me like crap. I don't need fake friends like you guys. You never liked me since the very beginning of school. You all bullied me and hurt me because I was different. You even nearly got me killed because of Remus's furry problem. I have my real friends by my side. They are the ones that won't leave me with a damn letter. Enjoy your damn Holiday!" He turned back around and continued to walk away as Lily screamed for him to come back.

He walked back to his common room and quickly started to pack his belongings. He threw his big black suitcase onto his bed and picked up all his books, including the ones on dark magic that Lily warned him to stay away from. He put them in the suitcase along with his clothes. He snapped it shut with a bang and picked it up by the gold handle. He knew exactly where he was going. He wanted to do this since the beginning of the year, but now that Hermione was gone he was ready to take the plunge. He felt stupid for not doing it sooner, but he just had to listen to Hermione didn't he? He just had to get his hopes up that a girl actually liked him. He knew no one actually liked him. No one ever does. After he finished packing he quickly wrote a note to his friends Regulus and Rodolphus to expect him in a few hours. He walked down the stairs carrying his suitcase that was gripped tightly in his white knuckle grip. He walked out of the common room and walked down the hallway with a scowl deeply etched into his face. He walked out of the school doors to the carriages that were waiting for all of the students. He got in one of them and the carriage took him to the Hogwarts Express. He got out of the carriage and boarded the train towards the very back. He ended up sitting alone for the train ride, which was fine by him. He didn't want to socialize with anyone, especially the bloody marauders. After the very long train ride, that was nice and quiet for Severus, he picked up his suitcase and began to walk off the train. He ignored the other students and got off the train. He approached the 9 and ¾ barrier and ran into it. Once he appeared on the other side he saw his two friends waiting for him. He quickly approached them with a smile on his face.

Rodolphus grabbed Severus's arm and pulled him to a secluded corner where no one can see him. Rodolphus also grabbed Regulus and with a crack they disapparated from the train station and apparted to Rodolphus's house. Rodolphus said in annoyance, "You need to get your license Severus the next time you can. I'm tired of having to apparate you everywhere."

Severus chuckled and said, "I will when I can Rodolphus."

"What happen to your chick?" Regulus asked.

Severus sneered in response. "She wasn't who I thought she was. She ended up leaving me without saying a word. She moved to the Americas. I guess that's what I get for trying to date someone."

Rodolphus laughed and put his arm around Severus. "Didn't I warn you about her Sev? Maybe next time you'll listen to me. You can never trust a mudblood ever."

Severus cringed at hearing the word mudblood but he shrugged it off. Rodolphus was right. If he listened to him he wouldn't be feeling this way to begin with.

Regulus said hopefully, "So based on your letter I guess this means that you are ready to join the cause?"

"I was ready to join at the beginning of the year, but now that I've been dumped and pushed aside I am fully ready to pledge my support. I had enough of being treated as a doormat. Once everyone knows I'm a death eater I will no longer be messed with." Severus was determined to show the world that he wasn't a boy that people can use and then drop. He's been broken his whole life. With a drunken father, a good for nothing mother, no friends, and a girlfriend who just left him with no notice pushed him over the edge. He didn't want people to see him as a doormat anymore. He was stronger than that. He was braver than that. He was better than that. He turned to his friends and said determinedly, "Let's go Rodolphus and Regulus. I am ready to go to him now." With a nod Rodolphus grabbed Severus's arm and Regulus and they disapparated again with a loud crack.


	20. Chapter 20

**This is again another chapter of young Severus. This one follows where the last one left off. This is where we see when Severus first took the dark mark. I probably will have maybe 2 more of young Severus that leads up to Hermione's return. Enjoy the chapter!**

Severus, Regulus, and Rodolphus apparated in front of a big mansion. It looked old fashion and not welcoming to outsiders. They approached the big, heavy doors slowly and Rodolphus took out his wand. He said the incantation and the doors started to open. Severus hesitated for a split second. He still had time to turn back. He can still change his mind. Hermione's words started to echo in his mind that people were there for him. Don't do anything drastic, his mind kept screaming at him. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. With as much strength as he can muster he cleared his mind and heard the voice disappear. He reopened his eyes and headed inside the building more determined then ever. The doors closed behind them. The first room they appeared in was a big ball room. The floors were white and the walls were all black. Nowhere in this room were any windows. They couldn't see anything outside and no one can see in. Severus looked around the room and saw many older wizards and witches talking to each other in big heavy robes. Severus's eyes landed towards the very back of the room. There on a big golden chair lied the man in charge Lord Voldemort. His eyes were filled with malcontent as he stared at Severus. Severus gulped as he watched his hand stroke the large snake by his side. He slowly rose and approached him. Severus's eyes took him in slowly. He was wearing a black wizard robe that reached the floor and his feet were bare. He looked like a snake and his skin was a sickly gray color. His eyes were boring into Severus's daring him to look away. The silence was deafening and everyone who was busy talking to other people turned to look at the two of them. Regulus and Rodolphus stepped away from them knowing it was between the two of them. If they got in the way there can be punishment afoot.

"So Severus Snape you come here looking for glory is that it?" Voldemort's voice hissed out at him. It wasn't a rhetorical question. He wanted him to answer.

Severus swallowed his fear and said, "I came here because I am tired of being pushed around, My Lord." He remembered what Regulus and Rodolphus told him with how he should talk to him. "I've been bullied and used by people I thought I loved and I am tired of it. I am ready to become your servant. I am ready to get revenge on the ones who hurt me." He started to kneel before the Dark Lord and said, "My Lord, will you please have me? I am ready to follow you to the end of the Earth."

Lord Voldemort stared down at him with even more malcontent. "What can you, a mere boy, offer me Severus Snape? Do you think you are strong enough? Do you think you have the courage to do as I ask? What makes you worthy of joining my ranks?"

Severus stared up at him on his knees. He was right. What can he offer him? "My Lord, I am a master at Potions. I make my own Potions and my own spells. I invested my whole life in the dark arts and I can help you. I will be a great aspect to your cause. I am strong enough. I do have the courage to do anything you ask of me." He stared up at him hopefully. If he wasn't accepted into the ranks he didn't know what he would do.

Lord Voldemort lips turned into an evil smirk. "Alright Severus Snape. I will let you join my ranks. I do need someone to make my potions and it can't hurt to have another follower. Take out your arm and I will reward you with the dark mark."

Severus rolled up his sleeve to his elbow. He held out his arm and nearly gasped as Lord Voldemort snaked his arm tightly around his wrist. His wand bit into his skin and he started to chant. Severus felt a deep pain in his arm and nearly cried out, but he bit back his scream. It would do no good to show his weakness in front of other people. He watched as the ugly skull started to appear on his skin. When he was done he threw his arm back at him. Severus rolled his sleeve back down and looked back into the eyes of his master even as his arm continued to burn.

"Welcome to the ranks Severus Snape. For now on when I call you you need to show up. You will feel your mark start to burn intently and it will not stop until you are here. Do not keep me waiting."

Severus Snape said, "Thank you My Lord. I will do my best to prove to you my worth." He started to stand but he was pushed back down by a heavy hand.

"Do you think that was it? You get the mark and get to join your friends?" He started to laugh evilly. "Now you must really show me your worth. Now you may stand, but before you are dismissed I have something you need to do. Call it an initiation of sorts."

Severus hesitantly rose to his feet and swallowed the lump that was in his throat. He didn't know what he was going to make him do. He didn't expect to walk in and have to actually do something to prove his worth, but I guess that was naïve of him to think that way. Of course he would want a show of some sort. He was a new comer. All new comers had to go through some kind of initiation. He just hoped that what he had to do wouldn't kill him in the end. Figuratively speaking of course.

Lord Voldemort casted towards a big white door near his throne and in walked a man who was levitating an unconscious girl. The girl was set down in front of Severus and Severus looked up at Lord Voldemort in wonder.

"What do you want me to do My Lord?" Severus asked. He was nervous, but he hid it well.

"This girl is a mudblood. I hope you understand our cause Severus Snape. We are a group of people who are trying to keep our bloodline intact. All mudblood's and blood traitors alike all must die. I want you to torture her and then kill her as we all watch. I want to see you do it so I know you will not run when given the choice of killing someone. We are not here to protect people. We are here to end a certain race of witches and wizards. Now take out your wand Severus Snape and do as you're told." Lord Voldemort walked back to his golden throne and sat down. His eyes stared into Severus waiting for him to start.

Severus swallowed nervously and took out his wand. He really didn't want to torture the poor girl. She obviously been tortured before lying there and she reminded him too much of Hermione. She had nice brown curly hair and was petite. She looked like a girl that was at Hogwarts. He knew he couldn't keep the Dark Lord or anyone else waiting. It would show him as weak and unable to complete the task at hand. He pointed his wand at the girl lying unconsciously and began to torture her. Time went on as he casted spell after spell emotionlessly. Finally he heard Voldemort order him to kill her. With strength he didn't know he had in him he shouted the words Avada Kedavra and watched as the girl died before him.

Lord Voldemort stood and said, "Well done! Please everyone clap for our newest recruit. He's going to be one of our greatest assets."

Severus watched as everyone stood and started to clap. He never felt this kind of feeling before. He felt wanted. He felt like he belonged here. People weren't jeering at him and laughing at him. Maybe he did belong here after all. He pocketed his wand and smiled at everyone even though on the inside his mind was screaming at him for killing an innocent girl.

Lord Voldemort said, "Now please enjoy the rest of your time here. I have somewhere I ought to be." Lord Voldemort left the room leaving everyone in the big large ball room.

His friends Regulus and Rodolphus approached him and wrapped him up in a hug.

Regulus said, "Congratulations on becoming one of us."

Rodolphus pulled him to the corner they were standing at earlier and said, "I want to introduce you to the younger recruits we hang out with."

Severus looked at the five people that were smiling at him. They all were very tall and weren't anyone he ever seen before. Obviously they must have graduated from Hogwarts already. One of them had long blonde hair and was the first to introduce myself.

"Hello Severus. My name is Lucius Malfoy. I am glad to see we have another recruit that understands our cause. I see that you are a Slytherin at Hogwarts yes? I too was in Slytherin. I graduated just a few years ago at the top of my class of course." He wrapped his arm around a girl that had long blonde hair herself with brown on top. "This here is my wife Narcissa. We have been loyal followers of our Lord since we graduated from school. He has shown us the true path of where we belong and I hope you will stay and follow us. Of course there is no leaving once you join though Mr. Snape. I hope you understand that. One of our newest recruits last week tried to leave because he wanted to change his mind, but really he was too weak. He didn't have the stomach to torture and kill people. Our Lord ended up killing him."

Narcissa said, "Don't scare the poor boy off. He just got here. Hi Severus. Welcome to Lord Voldemort's home. I am glad to see another young man joining our side. I hope you enjoy your time here."

Lucius too his arm off Narcissa and said to Severus, "You drink Severus? Tell you what. How about we go to the sitting room just next door and we can have a drink. I think this can be a start of a beautiful friendship."

Severus eagerly followed Lucius to the room next door. He wanted make a new friend. He felt important and at the center of attention. No one ever paid attention to him and for once he was getting what he felt he deserved.


	21. Chapter 21

**Here is the next chapter earlier than expected. This is a few years after the last chapter ended. I have one more following Severus's life until Hermione is back. Please leave a review and I will post the next chapter probably on Sunday. Enjoy!**

Severus woke up with a start from a nightmare he just had in his bed at Spinner's End. It's been three years since he joined the Dark Lord and two years since he graduated from Hogwarts. Ever since he joined the ranks his life went from bad to worse. He thought he found a group that understood him, but again he was being used for his talents. He wasn't that far in Lord Voldemort's good graces as he would like to be and the people he made friends with didn't talk to him except for Lucius. He realized very quickly that he hated what he had done and what he had been doing. He didn't want to kill people. He didn't even believe in blood superiority. He was stuck with a group that he now detested, but he himself found it a safe haven. No one judged him in the group he was in, but if he could turn back time to the day he went to the mansion he would have turned away. He would have gone back to Hogwarts. To make matters even worse for himself, he was having recurring nightmares of all the killings he had done to prove his worth. His nightmares used to consist of Hermione being disappointed in him. She would appear in his dreams angry at him. She would spat at him how much of a fool he was and how much of a coward he is for joining the Dark Lord. The deeper he got into the dark arts and the Dark Lords good graces his dreams stopped revolving around her. She was now just a faint memory to him. He was too focused on what he had to do now that her existence was no longer important to him. He was hurt by her not even attempting to try to contact him by letter over the last two years. His feelings for her quickly diminished and he didn't care about her any longer. Well, he pretended not to care anymore, but he knew deep down he would always care for the one who had his heart.

This morning his nightmare was about Lily and James's death that happen just a few days ago. He tried to stop it. He really did, but it all failed in the end. He tried to approach the greatest wizard he thought imaginable, Professor Dumbledore. He promised he would keep them safe and he traded his loyalty to him for it. Even after begging him on bended knee they both ended up dying leaving behind a son that was left to fend for himself. He no longer wanted to support Lord Voldemort after her death. Even before then he didn't want to be a part of it. He realized he was a childish young teen who was in pain that made a terrible decision that ruined his life. He knew he truly didn't support the cause from the beginning, but now that Lily was dead he no longer felt any attachment to it anymore. Now that the Dark Lord is gone he felt lost and had nowhere to go. He's been living in this rotten house since he graduated Hogwarts. The house was hollow and had no warmth in it whatsoever. He hadn't found a job to do and he needed answers. He got out of bed and dressed himself in the dark clothing he was so used to wearing every day. His face was always etched into a dark grimace. He couldn't remember the last time he showed a smile at anyone or being happy. He grabbed his wand and walked over to the floo he put inside his house since he received it after his father and mother died not too long ago. His mother died by the hands of his father and his father died by the hands of him once he found out he killed her. He grabbed a handful of floo powder and walked into his floo network. He dropped the floo powder and said strongly, "Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He appeared in Dumbledore's floo in Dumbledore's office. He saw him waiting for him at his desk. His eyes had that annoying twinkle in them again and he was staring at him eagerly. His eagerness and look upon his face made him angry. He approached him in anger and spat at him, "You swore you would keep her safe." Even if he didn't love Lily anymore it still felt like a stab in the heart that she died. He felt betrayed. He trusted Dumbledore to do as he asked, but in the end it wasn't enough.

"Lily and James kept their trust in the wrong person. I did everything in my power Severus, but unfortunately…"

He was interrupted when Severus boomed at him, "Within your power? How dare you? You didn't even care about them did you?"

Dumbledore glared at him and towered over him, "Like you did? You sure didn't give a damn about James and their son Harry. You didn't even care for Lily's life after joining the Death Eaters. You are lucky I am keeping you alive Severus Snape and not sending you to Azkaban for your crimes. I will choose my next words carefully if I were you."

Severus remembered who he was talking to. He could have ended up killing him or sending him away when he came to him. He said in defeat, "What do you want from me old man?"

"You need to help me protect the boy from the Dark Lord," Dumbledore said calmly.

"The Dark Lord is gone now," he said exasperated.

"The Dark Lord will return and he needs someone to protect him. He has Lily's eyes Severus. Please you have to help me. You owe this to me and to Lily. Dare I say you owe this to Hermione."

Severus's eyes flashed in anger. "How dare you mention that name in front of me?"

"How dare you join the Dark Lord and follow your friends when you in fact know that Hermione was muggle born and was attacked by said friends. You owe this to her to show her that you are in fact a good man like she thought you were. Unless of course you want to go back and continue to be the dark man you portray. I know you aren't really like this Severus. Hermione saw through it and so did I. Don't do this to yourself. Harry needs someone to protect him and the Dark Lord will return and try to kill him," Dumbledore said patiently. He was using Severus's emotions for his own benefit.

Severus knew he had no real choice. He did owe this to Dumbledore and to Lily. He supposed he also owed this to Hermione. "What do you want me to do sir?" He gave in to Dumbledore's argument and waited to hear his response.

Dumbledore stroked his chin in thought. "You are a master at Potion making. I need a Professor to teach potions here at Hogwarts. If you do this for me I will consider your debt paid and you can live up to your promise of protecting Harry once he starts school in 10 years."

Severus grimaced. He really didn't want to do this. He hated children, but at least he would get paid for a job and not have to live in his crappy house for most of the year. "Alright old man I will keep up my end of the debt. I will take on the job as your new Potion's Professor." He took out his hand for Dumbledore to shake.

"Keep in mind Severus when the Dark Lord does come back you will be acting as a spy for me. You owe your life to me. Under those 2 stipulations you sure you want to accept the job?"

"Well I have no choice do I? It's either yes I'll do it or I end up in Azkaban. I'll play as your spy and be your Potion's Professor. Now shake my hand," Severus said angrily.

Dumbledore shook his hand and said with fake politeness, "Congratulations on your job Severus Snape. I look forward to seeing how it pans out for you." He dropped his hand and said, "Your rooms will be down in the dungeons near the Potion's classroom. You should remember back when you were in school. Since you are our newest Potion's Professor and a Slytherin you will also have the role of the Head of House for Slytherin's. Enjoy your stay here at Hogwarts. School will resume in a few days I will use this time to prepare myself."

A few days later Severus Snape was sitting in his desk chair preparing himself for his first ever lesson. He was wearing black wizard robes and schooled his features to be mean. If he was going to be a Professor the rest of his life, well until the Dark Lord reappeared again, he was going to be a good one at that. He wasn't going to let the students push him around even if he was only 22 years old. He looked over his notes for the day and took a deep breath when he saw the first years start to come inside the classroom. He stood up from his chair and schooled his features into a dark scowl. Once everyone took their seats he pointed his wand at the door and the door slammed shut. He pointed his wand at the windows and he let them all slam shut one by one. He had to make an entrance. He turned towards the students and said, "I am your new Potion's teacher Professor Snape. I am not here to be your friend. I am here to teach you how to bottle fame and brew glory." He went on to state his famous first year speech that he practiced for hours. He watched as the first years all looked at him with wonder. Some looked at him in fright and some looked at him eagerly. Once he finished his speech he jabbed his wand at the black board. "These are the instructions for the day. We are making a simple healing potion. Get your ingredients out, turn your books to page 114 and you may begin." He continued to teach the same way every single day. His students were challenged by him and some even came to like him even if he was a prat to them and had a hatred for the Gryffindor students. All his Slytherin students had respect for him and everyone outside that house didn't dare defy him or cross him. He didn't make any friends with the other Professors teaching. Every now and then Professor McGonagall would try to talk to him, but he ignored her. Sure he had a sense of respect for her, but he didn't need her friendship or her comments about how mean he was to his students. He was strict and didn't take subpar work. Life was cruel so why shouldn't he be?


	22. Chapter 22

**Here you guys go! This is the last chapter of following Severus's life up until Hermione returns. The next chapter will be her return and we will see how things pan out for them. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thanks again to all my followers old and new. Also, thank you to the ones who left a review. Please don't forget to leave a review it really does help me post the next chapter out. Enjoy!**

Ten years has passed and Severus Snape's sour attitude still was the same. The only thing that changed was now he was confident in the way he taught and he actually was cordial towards the other Professors, especially Professor McGonagall. Even though Severus didn't start off liking Professor Dumbledore over the ten years they have gotten as close to friends as Severus can get. He saw Dumbledore as a mentor to him and he appreciated him giving him the chance ten years ago. Today was the start of another school year and Professor Dumbledore already reminded him of Harry Potter starting this year. He sat at the Great Table and took a sip of his water. He watched as the double doors opened and in walked Professor McGonagall leading the new first years. He was aware of his ex-friend and Death Eater Lucius Malfoy's son starting Hogwarts this year as well. Professor McGonagall stopped at the front of the table and walked up to the stool with the sorting hat on it. The new students started to crowd around the table. They all were eager to see what house they would be in.

Professor McGonagall picked up the hat from the stool and said, "When I call your name, you shall come forth, I will place the Sorting Hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses." All the students turned their attention to her and waited for their names to be called.

Professor Snape barely paid any attention to the names that were called. It was the same thing every year. He heard a few students be sorted into his own house which included Pansy Parkinson, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Blaze Zabini, and Draco Malfoy. The only name he looked up at was Harry Potter. He briefly looked at him and turned his eyes back down to his plate. As Dumbledore said he did have Lily's eyes and looked just like James. The names were almost over until he heard one name that made him look up really quickly.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and said, "Hermione Granger!"

Professor Snape looked at the girl as she nervously approached the stool. This can't be right can it? She has the same name as the Hermione he lost nearly 14 years ago. His mind started to work overtime trying to make sense of what he heard and what he was seeing. She looked just like her. There was no denying this was the girl. He watched as she sat in the stool and heard the hat call out Gryffindor. His eyes followed her to her seat and saw her sit next to Harry Potter and another Weasley boy. His eyes looked over at Dumbledore and didn't see any ounce of confusion. His eyes narrowed slightly in anger. _Did the old fool know along what was going to happen?_ He turned his eyes to Professor McGonagall who finished up calling all the names. She looked shocked by hearing the name Hermione and her eyes kept moving towards the girl. _Apparently I wasn't the only one who was left out of the loop._ After dinner he was going to find Professor Dumbledore and get answers from him.

After dinner and directing his first year students to their rooms he went in search of Dumbledore. He walked up the winding staircase and walked into his office after muttering the password. Without biding him a greeting or waiting for consent he took a seat in front of his desk and said impatiently, "Who is she Dumbledore? What are you playing at?"

"What do you mean my boy?" Professor Dumbledore said with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye.

He glared at him and seethed, "You know who I'm talking about old man. Don't play dumb with me. Is her name in fact Hermione Granger or is this just a cruel joke?"

"There is no joke here Severus. Her name is in fact Hermione Granger," Professor Dumbledore replied smoothly. He wasn't going to connect the dots for him. He wanted Severus to figure it out on his own.

"But is she my…. I mean is she the same girl back when I was a student?" Severus asked seriously. He needed to know and to understand this new predicament.

Dumbledore smiled at him and said, "Was she your girlfriend and the love of your life? I don't know Severus. You tell me."

Severus stood up in anger and turned his back on him. "She is not the love of my life. She never was and you know the answer to this. She looks just like her down to the freckles on her nose and her curly frizzy hair." The last words came out softly. He didn't realize how much he missed her, which made him even angrier. His mind came to a realization and he quickly turned to him. He slammed his hands on his desk and said, "She did this to hurt me didn't she? She purposely went back in time just to leave me in pain. She must have known I was going to be a death eater." His black eyes met Dumbledore's icy blue ones and whispered, "You pushed her to do this didn't you? You wanted her to do this. How dare you butt into my and hers personal life?"

Dumbledore said, "It was all for the greater good Severus. It had to be done."

Severus turned away from him again and walked out of his office in anger. The more he walked down the spiral staircase the angrier he got. Not at Dumbledore though. He was angry at himself for believing that she actually loved him. It was all a ploy to push him away in the end. He stalked down the hallway and went into his rooms ready for a big glass of fire whiskey to numb away his anger. He sat in his big comfortable arm chair and called out for his house elf. He grasped the cold glass of fire whiskey and downed it in one shot. He poured some more into his glass as he quietly seethed. He hated that he was used as a pawn for Dumbledore's own benefit. _But when has he not done that? He always has used you. He forced you to become a teacher because he knew you would see Hermione again._ He glared down at the brown liquid in his glass. His self-consciousness cruelly kept reminding him of Hermione. His thoughts were all about her. At one point he stood up from his chair and flung the glass against the wall hearing the satisfying sound of the glass breaking into pieces. He sighed when he saw the pieces on the floor and with a flick of his wand he repaired the glass and headed up the stairs to his bedroom. There was no point in sitting here and drinking away his problems. He wasn't going to find the answer at the bottom of it anyway. The next day was his first class with the new first years and he wasn't looking forward to it. Hermione would be there along with the Potter boy. He gripped his wand tightly as he came out of his office with a flourish. He turned towards the new students and watched as each one of them stared at him in fear, but he only had eyes for the table towards the back. He started his classic speech and watched as the Potter boy write in his journal and Hermione trying to grab his attention. He approached their table and started to fire rapid questions at the boy. As each question passed his lips Hermione incessantly kept waving her hand in the air. His eyes looked at her briefly and said, "Put your hand down silly girl." He watched as she lowered her arm and brief pain fill her eyes. He felt a slight nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach for hurting her, but he ignored it.

As the years went on his anger with Hermione didn't change. She was an insolent silly girl who kept getting in trouble with her friends and trying to show off in his class. His dislike for her still was very strong even knowing it was the same Hermione. She was in her fourth year here at Hogwarts and Severus didn't know when she was going back. She didn't look old enough just yet to go back. Based on her appearance he believed he would have to wait two more years. He didn't know how he was going to react to her return. He was currently standing against the wall with his arms crossed as he watched her dance with Viktor Krum. He was trying to ignore the feelings he felt in his heart, but it kept nagging at him. For once in his life he was jealous. Watching her dance with that boy made him grit his teeth in anger. He can dance better than him. He was the one who made her laugh not him. His anger continued to mount the longer they danced. Once midnight hit and they were headed out of the doors Severus quietly crept to follow them. He saw him kiss her hand goodnight and walk away from her. He watched as she twirled around in giddiness. He quickly hid in the shadows when he saw her friends approach her. He watched as the Weasley boy say something callous to her that made her cry. His eyes followed them walking up the stairs and leaving her there to cry. He almost came out of the shadows when he saw her sitting on the stairs alone crying. _They don't deserve your friendship._ He had an overwhelming desire to sit with her and hold her, but he remembered he was her Professor. It would be inappropriate and she would run away from him. He stood there and continued to watch as she cried. She finally finished crying and picked up her shoes on the steps. He watched as she walked back up the stairs. He sighed out loud feeling more confused than ever. He wasn't supposed to have feelings for her. She hurt him. He didn't hurt her. He scowled and headed back to his rooms in anger.

Two years has passed and Severus was currently sitting uncomfortably in Dumbledore's office. He was staring him down and waiting to hear why he was called in front of him on such short notice.

"Well my boy as expected Ms. Granger went back into the past just a few hours ago as she was supposed to. Since her being in the past does not affect our future time she should arrive back here tomorrow morning after breakfast. I am sorry Severus that it had to be this way, but you know there was no choice."

Severus scowled and crossed his arms in defiance. "You keep saying that old man since she first arrived in school. The only reason you sent her back was to push me to join the Dark Lord. You wanted me to suffer through all the pain I have caused."

"It was in the prophecy Severus. Our time frame would have been changed if she did not do what she was supposed to do. You had to be pushed in order to join. There is no going around that. The only way to push you was through Ms. Granger."

Severus muttered, "She probably enjoyed that didn't she?"

"I don't think she did actually. She came to me countless of times in the past crying about what she had to do. She hated it, but I told her there was nothing she can do."

"She was probably upset because of losing her bloody friends. She didn't give a damn about me or how I felt," Severus grumbled in denial.

Dumbledore shook his head and said, "Do you really believe that Severus?"

He looked up slightly and said, "Yes I believe that. Why else would you agree to this or do this in general? She wanted to hurt me."

"Severus, I purposely didn't tell her why she had to go back. She had no idea what she was doing there," Dumbledore said quietly. He watched as Severus's eyes narrowed in anger after he finished his sentence.

"Yet she still choose to go through with it and leave me behind with just a note," Severus said angrily. He couldn't let it go. He didn't want to believe any of it.

"Don't be stupid Severus. You and I both know she couldn't warn you or say anything to you. At least she was kind enough to leave you with a note about her supposed where abouts."

Hearing the word kind ticked Severus off. He stood up in anger and said, "Kind? Leaving me alone was kind?"

Dumbledore rolled his eyes and said, "Please cool it with the dramatics Severus it doesn't suit you and yes I do think leaving you the note was kind of her. She thought of you and only you before leaving. She wanted to leave something behind for you to read. She didn't want you to worry about her. Moving on Severus what are your plans when she comes back tomorrow?"

"Nothing she doesn't even like me. It was all a game to turn me into something I'm not. She will continue to be my student no matter what and she will continue to be an annoying know-it-all." He turned away from Dumbledore and retreated back to his rooms.


	23. Chapter 23

**Here is the next chapter and Hermione has returned! I know this chapter might not seem promising for Severus and her, but it will. Just give it time. Don't forget to leave a review!**

Hermione Granger came crashing down to the present. She was finally back in the right time but at what cost? She picked herself up off the floor and looked around at her surroundings. Instead of landing back in Dumbledore's office as she expected she ended up in the middle of the hallway. She knew she should go and talk to Professor Dumbledore because he was expecting her but for now her emotions were all over the place. She knew she would break down crying in front of him and lose her composure. She felt tears start to fill her eyes and she looked the other way. She started to run through the hallway not caring who saw her. Tears were streaming down her face at a rapid pace and were starting blur her vision. All she wanted to do was to find an empty space to think and to cry her heart out. She finally made it to the doors of the school. She ran out of the school doors and towards her favorite tree. _Their tree_ her mind screamed at her. She sat against the tree and pulled her knees up. She wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her face into them. She stated to sob silently to herself. She thought about the friends she had just lost only a few minutes ago and how she hurt the man she loved. She would never see James and Lily again. She would never see them get married. She would never saw them graduate. Lily was possibly one of the best friends she ever had even if she only knew her for two months. She understood her and was always there for her. They had a connection and she would miss that. She felt empty now that she was gone. She also would never see Sirius again. Sirius, even though he was an arrogant jerk, was a good friend. Sure he had his faults, but who doesn't? It's a shame that Sirius had to die the way he did and he didn't have the chance to say anything to her. Worst of all she was worried that she would never have the same relationship with Severus again. She felt like she ruined any chance they had because of the lie she had to live. She was the one who pushed him into joining the most evil and corrupt group of wizards. She kept asking herself if it was it really worth the two months being there. If she didn't go back what would have changed? Would Severus still be bitter and mean or maybe Severus could have lived a decent life. Dumbledore told her that she had to do this, but now she wished she never had gone. It was too much heartache for her, plus she was used as a pawn. She was angry at Dumbledore. How dare he use her as some chess piece just for the greater good? How dare he use Severus? She was hurt that he would use her just to hurt a decent man. Severus wasn't exactly a good person, but he deserved better then what his life gave him. She also kept thinking that maybe she could have made the right choices without getting so close to everyone, but that wasn't part of the deal. She knew it was expected of her to get close to them. She sat there for over an hour hating herself for what she had done and being angry at Dumbledore. She knew he would never forgive her for hurting him. She heard people starting to approach. She took out her wand and quickly cleaned her face. She looked up and saw that it was Harry and Ron with two big silly grins on their faces.

"Hey Hermione we have been looking for you all over. Shouldn't you be getting ready? Tonight is the Yule Ball," Harry reminded her.

"I don't think I'm going Harry. I don't feel very well," she replied quietly.

Harry said, "You have to go." Ron helped her stand up from her spot.

She said, "Why do I have to go Harry?"

Harry said, "It's the last time we get to hang out before the holidays."

She sighed knowing he was right. She really didn't want to go, but hearing Harry's words and seeing his face made her give in. "Alright Harry. I will go, but I'm not going to like it."

While talking an owl swooped down and stopped right in front of Hermione. The owl had a letter clasped in his beak. Hermione gingerly took the letter and gave the owl a light pet and smiled with thanks. The owl hooted and flew off. Hermione glanced down at the letter and saw that it was from Dumbledore. She opened the letter and started to read to herself.

 _Dear Ms. Granger,_

 _Welcome back my dear. I am glad that you have arrived safe and sound. I would like for you to come to my office immediately to debrief. The password is liquorish wands._

 _I'll be waiting,_

 _Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Hermione looked up at her friends and said, "I got to go talk to Dumbledore. Must be about OWLS and stuff." She headed back into the castle. She walked through the hallways noticing that in the past 17 years the castle hasn't changed a bit. She nearly reached her destination when she saw Professor Snape walking down the hallway. Seeing him made her heart clench. _He's alive and okay. He made it through the worst._ She kept her head down and held her breath as she walked by him. _Please keep walking. Don't stop me._ She tried to keep going but she heard him call out to her.

Professor Snape stopped and said, "Ms. Granger where are you headed to on a nice day like this?"

She turned towards him and nearly grimaced at seeing his angry glare. She stuttered, "Prof-Professor D-Dumbledore sir." She wanted to hug him so bad and apologize a million times, but this wasn't her Severus. Just looking at him made her eyes well up and made her heart sink. She quickly looked away from him before he saw her tears. She said meekly, "May I go please? He's waiting on me."

Professor Snape glared at her and crossed his arms in anger. _She better not be playing with me. What has got the Gryffindor know-it-all upset?_ He said, "What's wrong with you? If you're trying to pull something I will figure it out."

She said, "Nothing sir." She still was staring at the ground. She was trying to blink back her tears and muster up her courage to look at him.

He wouldn't drop it. He said, "Then why are you acting suspicious and staring at the ground?"

She looked up at him and nearly whimpered, "I don't want you to yell at me." It barely came out in a normal voice, which made him even more suspicious of her behavior. _Way to go. You just made him more suspicious._

He said, "I know I yell at my students Ms. Granger, but your behavior seems odd. Tell me what it is right now."

She knew she couldn't make up a lie that he would believe. She looked away from him again and said incoherently, "You know why."

He said, "Say it again and do not mumble."

She clenched her teeth and said, "You know why sir. I just came back from the past." His demeanor quickly changed. He didn't say another word. For one second Hermione saw pain in his eyes and quickly it was gone. He was back to being his mean callous self. He walked away from her. She stared at his retreating back with sadness. She called to him, "I'm so sorry Severus." He just kept on walking. She sighed and kept on walking feeling crappier than ever. He didn't even want to see her or talk to her. She couldn't blame him though. Because of her he turned into a monster. Because of her he ended up killing people. Because of her his life was ruined. She reached the statue to Dumbledore's office. She mumbled the password and waited for the statue to open. When it finally did she headed up the stairs. She knocked on the door and heard Dumbledore yell for her to enter. She headed inside and sat down in the chair that was in front of his desk.

Dumbledore gave her a kind smile and said, "Lemon drop?"

Hermione said, "No thank you sir."

Dumbledore said, "Alright then let's get on it with it. So I assume all has gone well for you in the past?"

"I wish you didn't ask me to do this for you," she replied with a sad smile.

Dumbledore said, "Why ever not?"

"Because I lost friends that I have come to actually like sir. I will never get those friends back. I will never get to see James and Lily's smiling faces again. I will never get to see Sirius again. I also hurt the man that I love. No wonder why he is so angry all the time. You made him this way," she said accusingly.

Dumbledore said, "It was in the prophecy. We both knew what was going to happen. Once he saw you your first year he knew exactly who you were and immediately approached me. He knew for 6 years what was going to happen."

She put her head in her hands in sadness. "No wonder why he hates me. He didn't have to accept this Professor. He shouldn't have had to."

Dumbledore said, "He doesn't hate you Hermione and you and I both know that wasn't near plausible for him to just walk away from it or change it."

She argued, "Yes he does hate me. Have you seen the way he acts towards me?"

Dumbledore said, "Severus is an angry person. He always has been and sadly he will probably always will be. You can't change that Hermione."

She crossed her arms and said, "That is not true. He wasn't always angry. He was happy in the past. I made him happy and I ruined that for him."

Dumbledore said, "You didn't ruin it Hermione. You can still make him happy."

She said, "Right like he would want a 17 year old girl trailing after him, especially now." She uncrossed her arms and said sadly, "It's because of me that he joined the wrong side at the beginning. If you would have told me that I was his death sentence I would have never went."

Dumbledore said, "Without you going we would have never got this far in the war. We would have already been killed. Severus is an important aspect to us."

She said, "But there couldn't be another way? You have killed that man's soul. I have seen him already hate himself for what he was, but now it must be 10 times as worse. He's a good man that no one else gets to see. He doesn't deserve any of this."

"It had to be done Hermione. You understand that don't you?"

She glared at him and said, "I understand it, but I don't accept it. How dare you do this to an innocent and decent man? Sure he isn't perfect or a great person, but he didn't deserve the life that was given to him. He had a soul once, but now all I see in his eyes is darkness because of what you made me do to him. I don't know if I can ever forgive you for this." She stood up and said, "I have to go get ready for the Yule Ball now."

Dumbledore said, "You are actually going?"

She said, "Harry wants me to go. I'll do it for Harry."

Dumbledore said, "I'll see you then." She left his office and headed down the hallway towards Gryffindor House. She reached the Fat Lady's painting and mumbled the password. She was let in and she headed up to her room to get ready for the Ball.


	24. Chapter 24

**Hello everyone! In this chapter Hermione goes to the Yule Ball and things end badly. Enjoy the chapter and have a Happy Easter! I will post again hopefully next week. Don't forget to leave a review.**

Hermione walked out of Dumbledore's office with an angry scowl planted on her face. She couldn't accept that it had to be done. Her mind started to think over the possible scenarios and how it could have been different. Would Severus be happy? Would his life be for the better if she didn't go back? Even with all these thoughts one though still was echoing in her mind. If he didn't join would the Dark Lord be even more superior? She understood that without Severus the Dark Lord would not have lost his powers in the first war, so in a way it was in-deed a must for him to join. With a sigh she said the password to the fat lady painting. It swung open and she walked into the Gryffindor Common Room. She headed up the stairs and begrudgingly got ready for the Yule Ball. The first thing she did was take a long hot shower. After the shower she felt a little bit better, but she was still angry about her meeting with Dumbledore. _How can he be so heartless and cruel? How can he not care about other people's life? All he cares about is his own self._ She walked to her closet and opened the door. She looked through her clothes trying to find what she wanted to wear. She didn't want to wear the same dress she did at the Yule Ball in the past. It would be too much of a reminder. She didn't have any other dress but her old one in her fourth year. She grabbed the dress and casted an enlargement spell on it so it can fit her now two years older and curvier. She grabbed the silver flats from the bottom of the closet. She put on her dress and watched in the mirror as it reached the floor. It looked beautiful on her just like it did two years ago. She slipped on her silver flats and pulled her hair up leaving some to fall down and frame her face. She took a good look at herself in the mirror and with a nod she headed down the stairs. She left the common room and walked down to the Great Hall. She found Harry, Ginny, and Ron waiting for her. Ginny was wearing a beautiful green dress that clung to her curves. It made her look absolutely stunning. Harry was wearing a plain black suit, but for once his hair was neatly combed. Ron on the other hand still looked kind of ridiculous. Again his mother sent him dress robes this year that didn't look flattering on him.

Ron was the first to speak. "You look beautiful 'Mione," he said with a grin.

She gave him a weak smile in return and said, "Thanks Ron." They walked into the Great Hall and she instantly headed to the table in the corner and took a seat. It looked exactly the same as when she went back into the past. It had the same decorations just different music. _At least then I was happy._ She sighed and watched as people danced to the music that was playing. Neville approached her timidly with a shy grin on his face. He was wearing a worn out suit that was too long, a tie that was too short, and his dress shoes looked one size too small.

He said, "Hermione can I dance with you?"

She can tell that he was nervous. He was looking away from her and staring at his shoes waiting for her response. She didn't want to make Neville feel bad. It took a lot of courage to ask someone to dance with you. Even though she didn't really want to dance she knew he was her friend and deserved at least one dance. She gave him a small smile and said, "Sure Neville." He took her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor. They started to slow dance. "Wow Neville. You're getting good at this."

Neville said, "I've been practicing. I didn't want to step on any toes this year."

Hermione laughed and said, "Thanks for that." They twirled around the room and Hermione's eyes landed on Severus's. His eyes were dark and penetrating. _Were his eyes always that dark? They lost what little warmth they had._ While dancing with Neville and seeing Severus's dark glare her mind went elsewhere.

 _Hermione and Severus were dancing around the Yule Ball together. Severus had his arm wrapped around her waist and Hermione was holding his other hand._

 _He smiled down at her and said, "You're a natural Hermione."_

 _She smiled up at him and said, "You're really good too Severus." At the beat to the song Severus dipped Hermione and kissed her on the lips. When he pulled her back up Hermione started laughing and Severus laughed with her. She smiled up at him again and said, "I love you Severus."_

 _He replied with like he always did, "Forever and always?"_

 _She giggled and said, "Forever and always." They continued to dance around the room their eyes never leaving one another._

Her eyes finally down casted after a few seconds of staring into his eyes. Maybe she just wanted to see his face again. She just wanted a quick glance to know that he was okay. That he lived through the worst and came out the other side. That still didn't make her feel any better at all. She stopped the dance and said quietly, "Thank you Neville, but I don't want to dance anymore."

Neville said, "Alright Hermione. Thanks for the dance." Neville went off to go find Luna. Hermione headed back to her corner. She looked around the room and saw Harry dancing with Ginny. She smiled at seeing them dance, but instantly her smile faded. She thought of James and Lily dancing. Again her mind started to wander.

 _Severus and Hermione stopped their dancing. He grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her over to the punch bowl. He poured her a cup and handed it to her._

 _He asked her, "Are you having a good time?"_

 _She said, "A great time Severus. I'm glad I came." She looked around the room and saw James and Lily dancing together. She commented, "James and Lily seem like they are having a good time."_

 _He said quietly, "Yeah I'm glad to see her happy. She deserves to be happy."_

 _"_ _Did you see Sirius had the audacity to take 2 dates to the ball," she said with a laugh._

 _Severus rolled his eyes. "He's a pig. I can't believe they both seem okay with it."_

 _She said, "Yeah well they both have bad reputations going around the school so it's not surprising. I feel bad for Remus though. He wasn't able to get a date."_

 _Severus said, "Yeah, but his friends are making him enjoy himself and I saw him dancing with Sam Petrovsky earlier."_

 _She said, "That's true and they have been talking ever since. Maybe Remus did end up finding a date even though they didn't go together."_

She was sitting there watching everyone dance when Harry approached her.

"You barely danced Hermione. Dance with me," he said.

She made a face and said, "I don't feel like dancing Harry, plus I think Ginny wants another go."

He said, "I already told Ginny. She went to go get a drink and she's talking to her friends. Come on Hermione please. I promise I won't step on your toes this time."

She sighed and gave him a weak smile. As always she relented to his pleads. "Alright Harry just one dance okay?"

Harry grabbed her hand and pulled her on the dance floor. Together the two of them danced to the beat. It was a fast dance and they had to step in time to the music. Harry quickly spun her around and picked her up. She let out a giggle and said, "You've been practicing I see."

He said with a blush, "I didn't want to make a fool of myself like the last Yule Ball if you remember."

She smirked and continued to be pulled along by Harry's grip. She was having a great time dancing with Harry that she almost forgot about her worries. Harry really was an excellent dancer.

"You seemed down earlier Hermione. Do you want to talk about it?" Harry asked in a middle of dipping her.

When he pulled her back up she gave him a smile and lied, "I was feeling down because I didn't have a date for the dance, but you're making me feel better."

Everything was going well. She was having fun dancing Harry. She was having so much of it that she even let him dance with her during the second song. It was absolutely perfect until again her eyes found a pair of black menacing ones. Seeing his anger at the way the two were dancing and laughing instantly made her lower her eyes and stop dancing. She didn't realize he was still watching her dance. His glare made her feel guilty. "Thank you for dancing with me Harry, but I think I want to sit down now." She found the seat she was sitting in earlier and tried to ignore Severus's dark glare. _I shouldn't have let Harry dance with me. I wonder what he must think of me. He must know that I am not interested in him as anything more than a best friend. He's like a brother to me._ She looked up and saw that he was still glaring at her. _Please stop staring at me like that. All I wanted was to just have fun._

While mid thought Ron approached her next with a big grin on his face. He grabbed her arm and said excitedly, "Dance with me."

She jumped slightly at him grabbing her arm. It scared her slightly, but she quickly gained her composure when she saw it was Ron. She said tiredly, "Ron I'm not feeling well. I don't want to dance." She hoped he would just nod and walk away, but he had other ideas.

Ron said, "Come on Hermione." He tried to pull her up from her seat. Hermione quickly pulled her arm away from him.

She stood up and shouted at him, "Bugger off Ron! I do not want to dance with you!" Of course that was the moment when the music died down. Hermione saw that everyone's eyes landed on her. They were all staring at her wondering why she was shouting. Her cheeks burned in mortification and she quickly ran out of the Great Hall. She ran past people who were kissing and groping in dark alcoves. She reached the doors and she headed out to the garden outside on Hogwarts grounds. _Why did I even come to this stupid ball? I knew he was going to be there. He ruined everything. Why does he have to be so hurtful? Why are his eyes so dark? Why… Why is he so attractive?_ She saw a shooting star go across the sky. She closed her eyes and said aloud, "I wish that I can go back to that time period. Back when I had friends and a man that loves me for me instead of hating me." She felt a tear trail down her face. As the first started to fall another one followed suit. She broke out into tears and she slowly sat down burying her face into her hands. As she cried the dance continued on and no one followed her so she thought. In the dark corner Severus Snape stood there with a dark scowl on his face as he watched her cry into her hands.


	25. Chapter 25

Two days past after the Yule Ball and Hermione begrudgingly headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast this Monday morning. They only had a few days left before the Holiday's, which also meant that she had class with the one she wanted to avoid the most. She slowly dragged her feet through the hallway. She had no desire for this day to start. She dreaded seeing his dark glare. It pierced her soul and made her heart break knowing the pain she caused. Even with her slow walk she made it to the Great Hall earlier than most of the students. She walked into the Great Hall and she couldn't help but find Severus's menacing demeanor at the Head Table. She looked away from him before he saw her staring at him. She instantly felt out of sorts with where she was. Normally she would have found a seat next to Lily and the marauders, but there was no Lily. Even after being back for a few days she still wasn't use to it. She still terribly missed her friends and was hurt by Severus's cold demeanor. Her eyes again landed on Severus who was chatting quietly to Dumbledore. Her stare was broken by Malfoy pushing past her.

He pushed by her and said with a scoff, "Move it Granger."

She shook her head and headed to the Gryffindor table with her head held high. She was so used to giving people fake smiles and saying that she was fine, but she really wasn't. She found a seat sitting next to Ginny who was sitting next to Harry.

Harry greeted her with a smile. "Good morning Hermione."

She looked up from her plate and looked at Harry. "Good morning Harry." She looked at Ron who was sitting across from her and said, "I apologize Ron for overreacting at the Yule Ball. I wasn't feeling well."

After shoving a sausage in his mouth Ron replied, "That's okay 'Mione."

Harry said, "So Hermione are you staying at the castle or are you coming to the burrow with Ron and I?"

Hermione looked down at her half eaten eggs and said, "I don't know Harry."

Harry said, "Please think about it. It won't be the same without you."

She sighed knowing he was right, but she still didn't want to go with them. She slowly pushed around her food around her plate and ate very little. She took a last gulp of her pumpkin juice when she saw everyone heading out of the Great Hall for breakfast. The Golden Trio finally stood up from the Gryffindor table and headed out of the Great Hall.

Harry said with a grimace, "Time for Potions."

"Yeah with that slimy git," Ron said with a groan.

Hermione frowned and chided him, "Ronald. Don't be such a child."

Ron said defensively, "But he is Hermione. Can't you see it?"

"Have you ever wondered why he is the way he is?" Hermione asked with a sigh.

Ron said, "Probably because he has a stick up his arse." Ron laughed and high-fived Harry with an ugly grin on his face.

 _No it's because of me,_ her mind reminded her cruelly. Instead she rolled her eyes at his actions and replied "No maybe it's because he has to deal with students like you." That instantly shut them up the remainder of the walk there.

They finally got to his classroom and they walked inside. Harry and Ron normally sat in the back, which Hermione followed them there.

Harry gave her a big grin and said, "You're actually sitting with us this time?"

"Yes I feel that the new placement will make me pay attention better," she lied.

Harry looked at her quizzically and scratched his head in confusion. "Okay Hermione. Whatever you say."

Hermione got her materials ready. She took out her potion making kit and her textbook. She slowly waited. A few minutes passed and they all jumped when they heard a door slam shut. Everyone's eyes watched as Professor Snape walked down the aisle with long strides.

He got to the front of the room and turned his attention instantly to Hermione's table. He snapped, "Today you will be working on a powerful love potion. It is extremely difficult and I do not expect any of you to be able to complete it. Turn to page 300 of your textbook and begin."

Hermione lowered her eyes from him and turned her book to page 300. Seeing the potion they were making made her grimace. It was the potion they were forced to work together on the first day of class in the past. _He would make us make this potion._ She started to work on her potion. It started off well and Professor Snape stayed away from their table. Half way through class Professor Snape approached their table with a scowl on his face. Hermione held her breath as he stared down into her potion. It was absolutely perfect and she knew there was nothing he can say that was wrong about it. His eyes turned toward her long sleeves. Long sleeves while working on Potions, even though in dress code, were dangerous.

Professor Snape's eyes rose and met hers. He said lowly, "Ms. Granger please roll up your sleeves. It is a hazard. You know this."

Hermione hesitated remembering the ugly mark on her arm. She couldn't help but glare into his eyes. _You know this you bastard. I could just cast a charm on my sleeves, but of course there is no silly wand waving in this classroom._

He pretended to look at his wrist as if he wore a wrist watch and his eyes met hers again. "Tick tock Ms. Granger. I don't have all day. Unless you would like to have a zero for the day," he said crossly.

Her eyes lowered and she acquiesced to his request. She quietly rolled up her sleeves baring the scar on her arm. He didn't even react to it. He continued on his way to the next row of tables. Her eyes followed him angrily and she looked down at the word carved into her arm in sadness. _Why must he be such a prat about it?_ She prayed Harry and Ron wouldn't notice it, but of course one of her friends did.

Neville looked over at her and exclaimed loudly, "My gosh Hermione what happen to you?"

She elbowed him hard in response. She glared at him into silence and she tried to get back into her potion, but Harry and Ron heard the outburst and looked at her worriedly.

"Bloody hell Hermione how did that happen?" Ron whispered to her.

"I'll tell you later," she whispered back trying to buy herself time.

After that once incident everyone continued to work on their potion. Time was almost up, but Neville got stuck with his potion. He didn't understand what was wrong with it. He whispered next to her "Hermione I need help." Hermione looked around and saw that Professor Snape wasn't paying attention to them. He was on the other side of the room. She looked inside his potion and saw that instead of the light pink color it should be it was a very dark purple.

She whispered, "Stir the potion three times clockwise." Neville stirred the potion three times.

Neville said anxiously, "Now what?"

She said, "Add the dragon's blood." Neville accidently grabbed the werewolf's blood. Hermione shouted, "No Neville stop!" Hermione grabbed his wrist and pulled it away from the potion just in time. The loud shout brought attention to Professor Snape.

She grimaced as Professor Snape quickly went to their table with a dark scowl on his face. He shouted down at Hermione, "Ms. Granger why are you interrupting the whole class?"

She stuttered out, "I was just…"

Professor Snape interrupted her with a snap, "You are just nothing! 20 points from Gryffindor and detention tonight at 7."

Her eyes lowered to her table and she glared down at her perfect potion. She mumbled, "Yes sir."

When he walked away from their table Neville whispered, "I'm sorry Hermione."

She whispered back, "It's okay Neville." She continued to work on her potion trying to hold back her tears. She finally finished her potion. It was absolutely perfect. She smiled slightly at her accomplishment.

Neville whispered next to her, "You should take up potions and be a potion's mistress. You would be perfect at it."

She looked at him and whispered back, "With the war who knows what's going to happen to any of us and I doubt Professor Snape will take me on as an apprentice. He never takes apprentices."

He mumbled, "His loss."

She quirked a smile at him and whispered back, "Thank you Neville. What do you want to do if the war wasn't upon us?"

"Well my plans are to get into the Herbology field and maybe one day teach it like Professor Sprout. I'm really good at it."

She said, "That's great Neville. I'm happy for you."

His eyes lowered back down to her arm. He whispered, "How did you get that?"

She looked down at it and said, "I don't want to talk about it." She rolled her sleeve back down to hide it, but Neville kept looking at her.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" He said worriedly.

"Yes I am sure. It doesn't bother me so just drop it," she said a little annoyed. Class was finally over. She begrudgingly bottled her potion and grabbed the vial. She walked slowly to his desk. Her eyes met his and she put her potion down. She turned around and then headed out the door to get to the library. Neville tagged along with her.

"Are you worried about the war?" He said next to her as he quickened his step.

She said, "Yes. They can attack at any minute and Harry isn't ready. I'm not even ready. The Order can pretend that they are all ready but I feel that they don't know what they are up against."

"Don't think like that. You got to have hope," he said reassuringly.

"Don't tell anyone else about this but I'm scared. I may hide myself behind books and pretend that I know everything, but I'm scared of the war. I'm scared of the people that might possibly die because of it. I'm scared for Harry. I'm scared that I might not even make it to the end. I don't like thinking of the future because I don't know what it's going to be like. What if in the future there are no muggle borns? You know they are targeting those people and I might be next if I step out of this castle. Harry keeps asking me to go to the Burrow for the holidays but once we are out of that castle we are out in the open. I want to live Neville. I want a world where people don't look at you as scum underneath their boots because of your type of blood. I am worth something," she replied quietly as they walked through the halls.

Neville said, "You are worth something Hermione and I'm scared too, but it's going to be okay. Dumbledore says that we got to be brave and we got to fight."

She smiled at him and said "You're right Neville. Thanks for that."

"I'm sorry that I got you detention," he said apologetically.

"Don't worry about it. Snape is just being an arse like he always is."

"I never heard you refer to him as that before."

"I have tried to understand the way he acts, but sometimes he is more of an arse then he needs to be," she said with a slight waver of anger in her voice.

"Besides the Slytherin's you are the only one that doesn't hate him."

"I try to see the other side of things. I don't condone how he treats people but I also feel that there are reasons as to why he acts the way he does. Potion Making is an art and some people do not need to be anywhere near a cauldron. Any screw up can cause an explosion and cause people to die or get extremely hurt. He needs to act the way he does for that reason, plus there are probably outside forces that cause him to be the mean person he is."

"What do you think he's going to make you do during your detention?"

Hermione said with a grimace, "Probably something tedious and boring like scrubbing cauldrons by hand or rearranging his store room."

Neville said, "He once made me clean out a whole barrel of salamander guts."

She gasped and said appalled, "Oh god that's disgusting."

He muttered, "Yeah well I did blow up a perfectly good potion."


	26. Chapter 26

**I know you all were hoping they would make up by now, but you got to remember that this is Professor Snape that we are talking about. Unfortunately things do not go well again for this chapter. This one is all about Hermione's detention and of course words are said and things ends up even worse for her. Don't worry. Things will eventually clear up but for now enjoy. Please leave a review!**

Hermione sat in the library an hour before her detention. She was using this time to prepare herself mentally and emotionally. She didn't just use the library as a place to study and read. She used it as a quiet sanctuary to think and to be alone. Even though she was a Gryffindor, a spitfire one at that, she always needed time to be by herself and let her mind wander. She loved being with her friends in the common room, but it was always too loud and full of people. That's why she always loved the library. It was the perfect place to be and one of her favorites in the whole school. The library always had very few people and when it did they were meant to be quiet. She always got her work done in her quiet little sanctuary and no one ever bothered her, including now. She currently was sitting at her favorite spot contemplating what she was going to do about Severus. _Would he even bother trying to talk to me? I know I hurt him, but he has to have some kind of sense that I didn't mean any of it. I need to find a way to make it up to him. I can't stand the way he looks at me. What happen to his beautiful dark eyes? I miss the way he looked at me with that little smirk on his face, while his eyes danced with mischief. I miss his kind words as we walked through the halls._ Her mind kept cruelly reminding her of when they were happy together. As her thoughts and memories zoomed through her mind the tears started falling just as fast. She felt hopeless of the situation. She felt it was impossible to get through to him. He was so closed off and kept everyone at arm's length. He was spiteful and loved to hurt other people. She didn't see any way to change that. She brushed her tears away and looked up at the clock. It was nearly time for her to leave and she still didn't feel ready for her detention. She never even had detention before. She was always lucky enough to not be with Harry and Ron when they got detention. It made her mad that her perfect reputation of never having detention before was ruined all because she was trying to help Neville. She knew he gave her detention purposely. He wanted to hurt her and he knew she couldn't argue with him, especially in the middle of class. His authority over her unnerved her. They used to be on equal ground and now he was one step above her. She slowly stood up from her chair and stretched. She pushed in her chair and turned towards the front doors. She slowly walked to the doors of the library and waved goodbye to Madam Pince, the librarian. She opened the door and started the slow walk to her detention. To Hermione it felt like the walk of shame. She walked with her head down and her hands started to sweat with nervousness. She didn't know how he was going to react to being alone with her. A part of her was hoping they can talk and find a way to make amends, but another part of her knew that was just foolishness. He wouldn't be talking to her at all. Now that he was older he never talked about his feelings. He hides himself behind a thick wall that no one can penetrate. She didn't think it was possible to break it down or at least make a crack in it. She knew she was the reason he made a wall around himself. She broke his trust and he would never let his guard down again. She was heading down into the dungeons fretting about her detention. She was nearly at the classroom when her mind started to wander again. _Why does he have to be such a bastard? He looks at me like I'm scum underneath his boots. All I did was help Neville with a damn potion and then he just had to make me roll up my sleeves. He knows I can't show that to other people. I guess Dumbledore was wrong. Maybe we can't make up._ She looked up from her sluggish walk when she heard quick footsteps approaching her. She saw Draco Malfoy approaching with an ugly smirk on his pale face. The way he looked at her made her nervous and unsure of herself. While trying to ignore him and pass by him calmly he pushed her up against the wall with a menacing look upon his face. He had her pinned against it and his demeanor was daring her to do something to him. In a panic she tried reaching for her wand, but he grabbed her wrist in a tight grip. She growled bravely at him, "Get off me Malfoy." _What is he playing at? What does he want from me?_ She started to remember the fight that happen in the hallway with her and Severus's "friends." She hoped it didn't come to this again, but she was ready if needed be.

Malfoy laughed at her. "Don't worry you little mudblood. One day your kind won't exist," he cackled.

She glared at him and spit in his face. _How dare he talk to me like that? What did I ever do to him?_ "Maybe one day ferrets like you won't either," she replied with a smirk of her own. In retaliation Malfoy slapped her across the face leaving a red handprint on her cheek. She responded with a right knee to his groin. He fell to the floor grabbing at himself and cursing.

She walked around his body and said, "Serves you right you jerk." She got to the classroom and stared at the large door in front of her. She was scared. She didn't want to go inside, but she knew she had to. She couldn't keep him waiting any longer. She lifted up her hand and knocked on the door hesitantly. She waited patiently feeling nervousness creep up inside of her. She finally heard him say loudly "Come in." She walked inside and closed the door behind her. She looked at him nervously as he continued to write on a piece of paper. After a few minutes ticked by he finally looked up at her.

He looked up from his papers and stared at her with malcontent. He said darkly, "You're late Ms. Granger."

She cringed slightly and she didn't even attempt to respond to that. She knew there was no point on telling on Malfoy. Slytherin's stick together no matter what. She also knew that there was no point of bringing up the past. He obviously did not care and she didn't want to even attempt to upset him even more than he already was. Instead she asked him hesitantly, "What do you want me to do tonight?" _Please don't be anything gross or mean. It will probably be something very tedious._

He replied slowly, "Rearrange my store room."

She grimaced slightly in response and said, "Yes sir." She walked into his store room and started on the bottom. She crouched down and began the slow process of organizing his ingredients. _I knew it was going to be something as tedious as this. You could have just used a damn spell to arrange it. I swear he must do this purposely to torture all his students who get detention because there is no way he keeps this all unorganized just to have a student rearrange it. Why is Malfoy acting the way he is? Does he know something that I don't know or is this just him being the prat he is?_ She finished the bottom shelf and started on the next one. _This is so stupid. I wonder if he even has the same feelings for me as he did when he was younger. Most likely not knowing that I caused all his rage and anger. I need to apologize even though it isn't necessarily my fault._ She peeked her head out and saw him grading papers again. She watched him for a few minutes calculating what to say and when to say it. She didn't want to interrupt him or say the wrong thing. The look of concentration on his face made her smile slightly. Even now she found him attractive and her feelings for him grew.

Professor Snape said still grading the same paper, "That is not what I told you to do for your detention. Now say what you have to say and get back to work."

The smile on her face dropped and she took a deep breath. She slowly mustered up her courage. "I just want to say I'm sorry," she said softly.

He snorted and said, "You're not the only one that get's detention Ms. Granger. It happens to all of you Gryffindor's."

She frowned and said, "You know that is not what I meant." _Stop acting like this._

He snapped, "Well it is too late now to apologize for that now is it?"

"It wasn't my idea," she said miserably. _I'm just trying to make it up to you._

He turned his chair toward her and said, "You still went along with it. You knew what it was going to do to me and I will never forgive you."

That was the first time Hermione saw his evil Professor exterior break. She saw the pain in his eyes. She saw the anguish that she caused. She whimpered pitifully, "But I love you Severus."

Instead of cooling his anger that just made him even angrier. "That died when you left me the way you did. You couldn't warn me at all. You knew I was teetering on the edge of turning to the dark side and you never showing up again was exactly what pushed me over the edge. I did exactly what you begged me not to do. We cannot change time now. You ruined everything we had and I will not go back to that."

She stomped her foot and said, "That's not fair though. You knew I couldn't even attempt to warn you at all. Any warning could have ruined the future that was set. I begged Dumbledore to reconsider but he would not budge. I hate that I caused you to be the way that you are but I do not regret the time we had together."

"You ruined my life. My life would have been better without you in it."

"Right like you weren't already ruining it with the way you were going," she said hurtfully. His words were like a bullet to her heart. She couldn't understand why he was so hurtful.

He stood up and shouted, "Get out right now!"

"Fine I will," she said with defeat. As she was heading to the door she heard him shout, "I wish you were never in my life."

She said quietly in return, "I wish you were the Severus I knew and still can be. Merry Christmas." She left his classroom hurriedly feeling tears stream down her face. _Why does he have to be so hurtful?_ She ran through the corridor and barely made it to the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. She hoped nobody saw her. She quickly said the password and walked into the common room. She ran up the stairs to her room and got into her bed. She wrapped herself in her covers and began to sob. _Why did I even bother trying to reconcile with him? I knew he was going to be angry, but not like this. What happen to my Severus?_ She knew tomorrow her friends in the common room would ask her what was wrong and she would again give them a fake smile and make up an excuse. She wished she had someone that she can talk to about her feelings, but she knew she couldn't. No one would understand and Dumbledore expected her to keep it a secret. She felt alone now more than ever. She burrowed herself deeper into her warm blankets and cried herself to sleep feeling her heart break from the cruel words of her Professor.


	27. Chapter 27

**I apologize for the wait. I did not have internet the last few days. Here is the next chapter. This time a familiar friend is in this chapter. Hope you all enjoy! Don't forget to leave a review.**

Hermione carried her black suitcase by the golden handle in a tight grip as she walked up the steps of the Hogwarts Express train. She walked down the aisle and past the full compartments of students who were excited about going home. She finally reached the one she was looking for and she walked into the compartment where her friends Harry, Ron, and Ginny sat. She put up her suitcase and she took a seat next to Ginny. She finally told Harry just this morning that she was going with him to the Burrow for the holidays along with Ron. She honestly felt forced to go because of the situation between her and Severus. She needed to get away from the school. It was too painful being left alone in a huge school and seeing the same pair of dark eyes every day staring at her. She wanted to try to have fun and act normal for once like she wasn't broken. The whistle blew and the train started leaving the station. Hermione got the window seat and she watched as the school went by leaving behind the person she loved. She hoped that maybe giving him space would calm him down and he would find it in his heart to forgive her.

"I thought you were staying at Hogwarts Hermione," Ginny said with a smile. "I'm glad you are coming with us."

She looked away from the window and turned towards her ginger haired friend. She gave her a kind smile. She always loved Ginny. She was the only girl she can count on and she was tough. Sure they weren't that close, but they would always be there for one another. "I thought so too Gin, but I decided that it's best to be with friends over the holidays then it is to be alone."

Ron said, "I can't wait to be back at home. I miss my mom's cooking. She always makes the best food over the holidays."

Ginny rolled her eyes at her older brother and said, "And you always end up eating it all. I don't get where you fit all that food."

Hermione snickered at Ginny's comment and a slow smile spread across her face. Being around her friends genuinely made her happy. Maybe she didn't have to pretend to be happy. Maybe she would actually have a good time for the two weeks she was at the Burrow.

"Mrs. Weasley does make amazing food Ron, but I can't wait to be at the burrow so I can see Professor Lupin over the holidays. I hate that he can't teach anymore," Harry said with a scowl. "Snape is such a prat."

Hermione perked up at hearing Harry mention Remus. She couldn't wait to get to the burrow either. She wanted to see Remus's kind smile again. He has to remember her from the past. At least she had one friend still alive from Dumbledore's terrible idea. She didn't even bother trying to defend Snape like she usually did. All she can think about was seeing Remus again.

While deep in thought the trolley swung by and they both turned towards the old woman pushing the cart. "Any treats from the trolley?" The woman asked.

As usual Harry took out a handful of galleons and bought a ton of candy for all his friends to share. The old woman smiled at Harry and continued on to the next compartment. Both Harry and Ron grabbed a chocolate frog, Ginny grabbed a liquorish wand, and Hermione grabbed an orange pastry. The four of them nibbled on their snacks as the time went by and slowly Hermione forgot all about her dilemma. She was happy that she decided to join her friends. If she didn't she would probably be somewhere in the library right now reading a book alone as her thoughts cruelly tormented her about the man she desired. The rest of the train ride included them eating their snacks and talking about their plans and studies.

When the train finally stopped at the King's Cross Station the four of them got off the train and walked through the 9 and ¾ barrier. They saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley waiting for them. Ginny and Ron ran towards their parents and gave them each a hug. Hermione and Harry approached them both with kind smiles upon their faces.

"Nice to see you again Harry. I didn't expect to see you Hermione, but the more the merrier," Mrs. Weasley said with a soft smile on her face.

"Unfortunately Dumbledore told us that we cannot take you guys to the burrow for the holidays. He wants us to be at Grimmauld Place because most of the Order members will be there and will be able to protect you all. He really meant Harry Potter specifically, but he also wants to protect the rest of you as well. He believes the war is getting too dangerous now and getting serious. He doesn't want you at the Burrow because he thinks is not a smart decision. It's in a wooded area in the middle of nowhere, but he believes that it can still be tracked, so we have been living at Grimmauld Place ever since," Mr. Weasley said.

All four of them nodded in understanding. "At least there will be enough room for all of us," Hermione said kindly.

Ron nodded in agreement and said, "Yeah Dad. I don't care if it's not at the Burrow. As long as we are together as a family." He added, "And of course mom makes her special food."

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley directed the four of them to their car. Luckily it was a normal car and not the flying one from their 2nd year. They all squeezed into the car and off they drove. It wasn't a far drive, especially with darting away the traffic. Their car may not fly, but they still used their magic here and there to get them there quicker. Once they reached the building they parked the car on the street and all six of them got out of the car. Mr. Weasley took out his wand and they all watched as the building started to stretch. The door to 12 Grimmauld Place appeared and the six of them walked up the steps and walked into the house.

Mrs. Weasley turned towards Hermione who was still gripping her suitcase. "You will be sharing a room with Ginny. Ginny will show you where it is and you can leave your suitcase in there." She then turned toward Harry. "You will be sharing a room with Ron. Ron will show you where your room is. Both rooms are across from one another just up the steps. I'm going to start making dinner, so please make yourself at home." Mrs. Weasley left them at the entrance and walked into the kitchen that was at the end of the hallway.

Mr. Weasley nodded at them all and followed his wife. The four of them trekked up the stairs holding their belongings. Once they reached the 2nd floor Ron showed Harry the room that they were going to share. Inside the room was two bunk beds and the whole room was decorated with the Chudley Cannons. Ginny grabbed Hermione's hand and showed her the room they were going to share. It too had the same layout, but it wasn't covered in the Chudley Cannons. Once the four of them got settled in they walked down the stairs and walked into the kitchen to check on Mrs. Weasley. Harry saw Remus sitting at the kitchen table talking to Mr. Weasley. Harry approached Remus and they both hugged each other.

Remus smiled at Harry and said, "Nice to see you over the Holiday's Harry. How is school going?"

"Same as usual, but our Defense against the Dark Arts teacher is rubbish this year. I wish you can come back and teach again," Harry said gloomily.

Remus sighed and said, "You know I can't Harry. Your Potion's Professor made sure of that."

"He's a slimy git. He's just jealous that you had the position that he wants. It's not fair. You are an amazing teacher."

Remus shook his head. "Harry I know you are upset, but you cannot be calling your Professor names like that."

"Even if it's true?" He responded in annoyance.

"Yes even if it's true," Remus laughed.

Hermione stood there awkwardly waiting for Harry and Remus to be done talking. She didn't know how she was going to bring it up with a room full of people. Nobody knew she went back in time and she knew Dumbledore and Severus would like to keep it that way. Finally they stopped talking and hesitantly Hermione approached Remus. "It's nice to see you again sir," Hermione said with a smile.

"Ms. Granger it's nice to see you as well. Still studying and passing all your classes?" He asked curiously.

"Of course sir. You know me. Grades before anything else," she said smartly. She knew there was no way to get him to understand and she didn't think of a way to give him a hint either. "You know sir when you get a chance I would like to speak with you privately." The words tumbled out of her mouth and she waited patiently. She was holding her breath hoping he would say yes.

"Of course Ms. Granger. Let's go to the library and we can talk in there." The two of them left the kitchen and walked to the library in silence. When they finally reached the big black double doors they walked inside and they each sat in a comfy arm chair. "So Ms. Granger what do you need?"

She looked up at him and said, "I asked you to be alone with me because Dumbledore doesn't want anyone else to know this."

"That serious then?" he questioned.

She bit her lip hoping he would remember her. He had to right? "Well sir it's like this. Do you remember a Gryffindor girl that appeared in your 7th year and then left?"

A smile spread across his face. "Welcome back Hermione. I have missed you."

Tears started to fall from her eyes and she said with a shaky voice, "I've missed you too Remus. I was worried that you wouldn't remember me." They both hugged each other and Hermione sat back down in her arm chair.

"Oh come on my dear. I have known who you were since your third year. I knew it was going to happen even then. I even tried talking to Severus, but you know him. He was quick to scream at me to get out and didn't want to talk about it. Has he attempted to talk to you?"

She looked down at her knees in sadness. "No he has not. He actually gave me detention a few days ago for trying to help Neville. I know he's doing it to hurt me and it's so hard to be near him. He won't listen to reason. I tried to talk to him during my detention, but all he did was spat out mean words towards me that he knew would make me cry. I don't know why I even bother trying. He sure doesn't love me anymore," her voice trailed off in sadness.

"I highly doubt that my dear. You just got to be patient. You know he is tough to talk to. You know how he acts. You just have to keep trying and try to break through his walls."

She sighed knowing he was right, but she still felt hurt by the whole situation. "The reason why I came here for the holidays was to give him some space. I'm hoping that maybe if he doesn't see me and I'm not around he will eventually calm down and maybe it will change his mind."

"Well I'm glad you decided to come. You deserve a break from school."

The frown on her face deepened and she said sadly, "I'm sorry that I couldn't warn you Remus. I know your life has been absolutely terrible ever since I left. You have no idea how much I beat myself up for it every day. I'm sorry that you lost James and Lily. I'm sorry that Sirius went to prison and now he is dead. I wish I could have done something or said something to change it, but Dumbledore forbid me. I hope you understand Remus and aren't upset with me."

"Of course I understand Hermione. I'm the one who is sorry for what you had to go through with leaving all of us behind and having to leave Severus the way you did. I didn't agree with Dumbledore's choices, but lately he's been doing things without letting the Order aware of it. I doubt he will even mention it in our next Order meeting tomorrow morning. He's been very secretive and trying to keep everything under wraps. I am not sure if it's because he doesn't trust us or if he's just going rogue. I think he's being foolish, but I have no say in what the old man does. None of us really do besides Minerva, but even she can't stop him," Remus said worriedly.

The two of them were interrupted by Mr. Weasley coming in and announcing that Mrs. Weasley finished making dinner and it was time to eat. Remus and Hermione stood up from their arm chair and left the library both deep in thought about Dumbledore's plans.


	28. Chapter 28

**Here is another chapter for you all! As some of you might have noticed I have changed the rating of this story and you will see why in the next chapter. It is going to get a little darker because of the plan I have in place. I will warn you when it does get graphic, but for now the rating of this chapter and the upcoming ones are still T-rated. Hope you all enjoy. Please leave a review.**

The next morning Hermione woke up early. She stuck her feet into her fuzzy Gryffindor-colored slippers and quietly walked out of the room, so she didn't disturb Ginny who was still sleeping. She walked down the steps and walked into the kitchen. When she walked inside she believed the room to be empty, but she saw Severus Snape sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of tea and reading a Potion's Weekly. She was surprised to see him sitting there because he wasn't in the house last night. Seeing him reminded her of Remus's talk yesterday about their supposed Order meeting. She looked down at what she was wearing and she blushed hard at how silly she looked. She was wearing a pink low-cut tank top and pajama bottoms along with her fuzzy slippers. She decided to ignore him. It wasn't worth talking to him, especially this early in the morning. She kept her head held high and started to make her tea. She attempted to be as quiet as possible, but she saw the tension on his face start to mount. She rolled her eyes at his anger. _How can you already be angry at 6 in the morning?_

He looked up from his reading material and glared at her. "Is there a problem Ms. Granger?"

She felt a sense of bravery overcome her. She wasn't at school, so he couldn't take away points or give her any detentions. "Why do you insist on calling me that? Can't you call me Hermione? You used to all the time."

His fist clenched around the pages of the magazine. "You are my student and it would be inappropriate of me to address you as anything else."

She grabbed her tea cup and sat across from him. She looked over at the magazine he was still holding in a menacing grip. His knuckles turned all white. "I have a copy of that issue at Hogwarts. I really like the article on page 2. What do you think?" she asked casually. She was trying to play nice with him. Maybe he would then try to talk to her nicely instead of with a biting tone. He snorted at her and ignored her question. He continued to read as if she wasn't sitting across from him. "I don't see why you can't talk to me Severus." The words came out and she saw the darkest look she ever seen cross his face. She instantly swallowed in nervousness as he glared at her again.

"I do not wish to speak with you Ms. Granger. We are not in school and I am on vacation. I do not wish to deal with know-it all's while I am here. Now finish your damn tea and leave me be. I am not in the mood to listen to you talk." He looked back down at his magazine hoping that would be the end of their conversation.

"Are you ever in the mood to talk to anyone?" she said hurtfully.

He looked back up again at her and saw tears starting to form in her eyes. He bit back the apology that formed on his lips. "No Ms. Granger I am not. I am not a people person. I don't socialize or have friendly conversations. Now drop it and move on."

"You used to all the time. You loved talking to me," she said hopefully.

"I was a teenage boy then. Of course I loved to talk back then. I have learned over the years that it's not worth talking to people. All they do is feed you lies and hurt you in the end."

Hermione saw the anger and hurt in his black penetrating eyes. "I don't know how many times I have to apologize to you Severus, but I'll do it again if it will make it up to you. I am sorry for the hurt that I caused you."

He sneered at her. "If you are tired of apologizing then don't. It doesn't matter how many times you apologize to me it doesn't make a difference to me. Now stop calling me Severus. I am your Professor and not one of your friends," he snapped at her.

She gave up talking to him and stared back down at her tea. She reached out to the middle of the table where the fruit bowl was laid out. She grabbed a banana and began to peel it. She ate her banana quietly and drank the rest of her tea in silence. She cast a cleansing charm on the tea cup and put it back in the cabinet. She sat back down and took out the book she brought with her. She too liked to read while at the breakfast table first thing in the morning. The book of choice was a Potion's textbook that she had been reading for weeks. She opened up to the page she left off and began to read to herself ignoring Severus completely.

The silence was deafening and the awkwardness increased as the time went on. Remus entered the kitchen and nearly laughed at what he saw. "You two are more alike then you realize." Both of them had their cheek resting on their hand while the other hand flipped through the pages.

Severus looked up from his Potion's Weekly and said, "Shut up wolf boy. What are you doing here this early?"

Remus rolled his eyes at Severus's comment. He ignored the name Severus called him and replied with, "I've been here since yesterday Severus." He walked to the fridge and took out a gallon of milk. "Why aren't you two talking? It's way too quiet in here."

"Mind your own business," Snape growled lowly.

Hermione looked up from her book and said, "I've tried talking to him. He refuses to talk to me civilly so I'm done trying to talk to him. If he wants to act more mature about the situation then I will talk to him, until then I will continue to read my book. Good morning Remus. I hope you slept well."

Remus smiled at her kindly. "I did thank you Hermione."

Severus stood up from the table and grabbed his magazine. "It doesn't seem like I'll be getting any peace and quiet with both of you in here. Thank you for ruining my solitude. I'll see you later for the meeting Lupin." He seethed out of the kitchen and left the two of them in there staring at each other.

Hermione sighed and watched as Remus made a cup of coffee. He then sat down in the seat next to her.

"Ignore him Hermione. He's not worth getting your feathers ruffled," Remus said gently.

She sighed in response. "Why is he so hard to talk to? First thing in the morning he already has an attitude. I even tried talking about his magazine because I have the same copy, but he refuses. I don't deserve the way he treats me."

"Don't take it personally. He does that to everyone," he replied.

"I was hoping I can be different though. We have a history together and he loved me once. I still love him. He won't even give me the time of day. He won't accept my apology and I've tried many times to explain myself, but he just ignores me or shuts me down. It wasn't my idea to hurt him at all and he knows this, so I don't know why he is acting like this."

"He's been used all his life Hermione remember that. He had terrible parents and barely any friends. Think of how he felt when you were thrust into his life and then snatched away from him. To him it's another slap in the face. Remember patience is a virtue Hermione. It will happen one day."

She grumbled in annoyance knowing there was not much more she can say or do. She decided to just change topics and deal with Severus at another time. "I want to join the Order Remus, but I don't think Dumbledore will let me join because I'm still in school. I don't think it's fair though. I am smart and I can use my talents to help out the cause. I already was used for one plan, so I don't see why not just let me join. Do you know when he will arrive? Maybe I'll try speaking to him and see if he'll consider it."

Just as she finished her sentence Professor Dumbledore walked into the kitchen with a pep in his step. "Good morning Remus. Good morning Ms. Granger. It's nice to see you both here."

Hermione beamed up at him. "Good morning sir. It's good to see you because I have something to tell you that I want you to consider."

He gave her a kind smile. He took a seat across from her "Alright Ms. Granger I am ready to hear what you have to say."

"Well I've been thinking sir since you already made me apart of the war with me going back into the past I was wondering if I can join the Order? I really want to help the cause and do anything in my power to stop it. Please sir. I know I'm still in my sixth year, but I am a powerful witch and I am willing to do anything to make sure You-Know-Who dies."

"I'm glad you actually asked me this Ms. Granger because I have another favor to ask of you. Remus I don't mean to be rude, but can you please leave the two of us alone?"

Remus stood up from his chair and said, "Of course Albus. I will see you later then for the Order meeting. Maybe I will see you there as well Hermione."

Hermione watched as Remus left the kitchen and she turned to Dumbledore anxiously. _What can he possibly ask of me now? Didn't I already do enough?_

Dumbledore said, "Alright Ms. Granger now that it's just the two of us I can ask you what I need you to do. You did say you would do anything to help the cause right?"

She grimaced at his question. She regretted her words immediately and she saw that there was no going back on her word. "Yes sir I did mean I would do anything for the cause. What is it that you need me to do?"

"I need another spy working with Severus."

Her first reaction was fear. She didn't want to be a spy. She started to think about the favor he asked of her and many questions came to mind.

"But sir I am a muggle born. That isn't possible."

"That's a quick fix my dear. You just forge a couple of records and make up a lie that you are in fact a Pure-blood."

She said, "Why would I turn against my friends' sir? You-Know-Who knows I am best friends with Harry. I am the brains of the Golden Trio. It wouldn't make sense to turn against them."

Dumbledore said, "This is where it might be difficult for both of you. The only way he will believe that is that Professor Snape seduced you."

"Professor Snape sir? You want me and him to work together on this? Are you out of your mind? He barely talks to me now and he will be angry with the both of us."

Severus Snape re-entered the kitchen and said, "You called for me Headmaster?"

"Yes Severus. Please come sit. It regards the two of you." Severus stared at Hermione as he lowered himself into a seat far away from her. "Severus I have decided to ask Hermione to do me a favor to help out in the war."

His lip curled up in disgust. "What is it that your brilliant mind has come with now Albus? Weren't people hurt enough by your actions?"

"I have asked Hermione to join you Severus as a spy." Dumbledore held his breath knowing that Severus would explode in anger.

As predicted Severus stood up in anger and shouted, "Are you absolutely insane? How can you possibly suggest that a little girl be put into the snake's den? She's not even a pure-blood."

"I am not a little girl. I am almost of age and I can make my own decisions," Hermione said defensively.

"Then you will be protecting yourself you silly girl. I don't want any part of this charade." He nearly made it out of the doors but Dumbledore stopped him.

"Please Severus this is important. I need you in collaboration with us. It is important that she joins."

"Why? Do you no longer trust me old man?" he asked in annoyance as he sat back down in his seat.

"Of course not Severus. I need someone who can talk to the younger recruits and see what they are doing. You are a higher recruit and you do not get to have those conversations, which is why I am asking Ms. Granger to join you with the cause." Both pair of eyes landed on her.

She said sadly, "I would have to get the mark wouldn't I?"

"Is your only concern that you will have to have that mark on your arm?" Severus snapped at her.

She said, "No of course not but that will never disappear. It will always be printed on my arm. How do you know I'm even strong enough for this Headmaster? I never had to kill anyone. I am expected to do that and more."

Dumbledore said, "That is where Professor Snape will help you."

"Doesn't he have enough on his plate as it is? He doesn't need me tagging along with him," she yelled. Her voice became shrilly at the end and she tried to keep her anger at bay.

"This is important Hermione. Professor Snape does not have access to the lower recruits and I feel that is where our downfall is. I need you to become friends with those lower recruits and see what they are up to. This is for the greater good Hermione. I need you to do this for me," Dumbledore replied.

Hermione knew he was using her emotions and manipulating her again. She sighed knowing if it really was for the greater good she would do it. She slowly succumbed to what he wanted. "Alright sir. I will do it."


	29. Chapter 29

**Hello everyone! Things in this chapter slowly start to change. I also updated chapter one because it was written horribly. Thank you to elizabethrose1974, GeekMom13, Snamione4life, Laurenmk20, and AllyBabyPepples for leaving a review. Enjoy the next chapter. Don't forget to leave a review on what you think!**

Hermione sat at the table that was charmed longer to fit everyone to sit. It was the day after Dumbledore sprung this terrible plan on her and to make matters worse it was Christmas. She still didn't know how she felt about it. After agreeing to help, Severus stormed out and Dumbledore left her to her thoughts. Everyone, including the Order, was sitting around the table wishing everyone a happy Christmas. Even Severus was there with an angry scowl on his face. They all were exchanging gifts and currently Hermione had a small stack in front of her. She had no desire to open any of them. She sat there gripping her mug of coffee. She decided something stronger than tea this morning. Her eyes observed everyone opening their gifts and exchanging hugs and kisses. Even Dumbledore was there opening his gifts. Without her consent her eyes landed on Severus's stoic face. He too had presents. Not many, but she saw that one was from Dumbledore, Arthur, Molly, and even though she believed him to hate her she ended up getting him a present too. Her mind was a million miles away. All she can think about was the upcoming plan.

 _Am I even strong enough to do this? I know I am a Gryffindor. I am expected to be brave, strong, and courageous, but I don't feel like any of those things. Getting along with Severus is a whole other story. Based on how he teaches I doubt he is going to be easy on me._

Her eyes travelled to Dumbledore's icy blue ones. She couldn't understand why she kept falling for her tricks. All he had to do was dangle his promise of the war ending if she did this one thing for him. His manipulation and overpowering of everyone unnerved her and made her mad at herself. She was still deep in thought of Dumbledore's need of using people when she felt someone tapping her. She shook her head and turned towards the person tapping her. It was Harry Potter trying to talk to her.

"Hermione, Mrs. Weasley has been trying to talk to you for five minutes now. Are you okay?"

She swallowed thickly feeling everyone's eyes land on her with concern. "I'm perfectly fine I was just thinking about upcoming O.W.L.S." She turned to Molly and said, "I am sorry Mrs. Weasley. What were you saying?"

Molly smiled in response. "I was asking why you weren't opening your presents dear. You look worried. You have nothing to worry about with your O.W.L.S. You are too smart for that my dear. Now come on celebrate with the rest of us."

She sighed in response knowing that there was no arguing with Molly. She put down her coffee mug and grabbed the first box in front of her. She looked at the name tag and saw it was from Molly herself. She ripped through the paper and got to the present underneath. As expected it was another signature "Molly Sweater" with her first initial sewn into the front. Along with the sweater was also a pair of fuzzy warm socks in Gryffindor colors. She looked up at Molly and smiled warmly at her. "Thank you Mrs. Weasley! I always love the clothes you make for us." The rest of her presents were all school related. She got a few books and some quills from many of her friends and acquaintances in the Order. What surprised her the most was the last box on the bottom. On the name tag was the sloppy scrawl that she was so used to reading on her essays. There was the name addressed as Professor Snape. She stared at the box debating on whether to open it or not. It felt like a sick joke, but she felt silly to just sit there and stare at it. She hesitantly tore off the wrapping paper from her present. There, behind all the wrapping paper, laid a plain black journal along with a note attached to it. She opened the note and read the words printed on the letter in shock.

 _Dear Ms. Granger,_

 _Think of this gift as a peace offering of sorts. Since we are to work together, thanks to Dumbledore's manipulation, I didn't want to leave things the way they were. The journal that I am giving to you is an important part of being a spy. None of you know this, but how I do my job is by keeping adequate notes. I take note of what happen every time I am called. It helps me make up a plan and later on tell it to the old coot when he asks for them. I would like to take you to my office so we can talk about our new arrangements. After you are done reading this letter please meet me by the floo network._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Professor Snape_

After excusing herself from the table and putting away all her presents, Hermione awkwardly sat in Professor Snape's office. She was nervous and angry about the new predicament she found herself in. She felt forced and scared. The only thing keeping her from going on a rant was the look on Severus's face. He too was angry, but she saw something else on his face that placated her.

The silence was broken by Severus clearing his throat and asking her, "How are you feeling about your new arrangement?"

Hermione looked up from her lap and sighed. "Why does it have to be me Professor? Why does he keep choosing me to go on all these terrible missions? I understand I am a Gryffindor and I should be brave, but I feel like I'm being used each time he does this. Last mission he put me through I lost so much and I don't want to go through that again. He doesn't care what happens to me. All he cares about is the greater good."

Severus sighed and said, "You are right Ms. Granger. He believes all of us are pawns to be played with. He doesn't care about anyone's life but his own. He thinks that us going along with him is just one sacrifice out of many, but he doesn't understand what he is doing. He is too focused on the cause. The reason why he chose you is because he believes that you are in fact the perfect person for the job. You are very close to Potter, so you have that working for you, plus Dumbledore knows that you are only one I can actually get along with, but just because of our past does not mean I am going to be easy on you."

She crossed her arms angrily. "It's not fair. The Order doesn't even know what he is doing. Remus is worried about him going rogue with all these ideas he comes up with."

"Well that's Dumbledore for you. He does things without thinking."

"How do you feel about this Professor? Do you want me to do this?"

"Of course not Ms. Granger. I am furious that Dumbledore is forcing this on both of us, but he has his mind set and what is meant for the greater good stands," he said angrily.

Hermione saw the anger rolling off him in waves. She asked hesitantly, "Why don't you want me to do this sir?"

"I am going to be very honest with you Hermione. I wouldn't wish this on any of my students. You don't understand what he will make you do Hermione. It will churn your stomach and make you hate yourself for years. Even when you start to feel a little happy again you will always have that feeling in your mind. You will always remember what you were forced to do and the mark on your arm will always be a reminder of your bad judgment." Hermione saw a look of disgust cross his face and she held her breath waiting for him to continue speaking. "I'm telling you now Hermione that we are meant to be an item and I'm supposed to seduce you in order for this to work. The Dark Lord, because he is a sick fuck, will make us perform in front of the other Death Eaters. He will make you crucio others, he will make you kill women, men, and children just because of their blood, and he will torture you if you don't do your job correctly. I have come back from meetings barely able to stand up because I was tortured so badly and I am considered his right hand man. That is why I do not want you to do this Hermione. I don't want to see you in pain and have to take a cocktail of different potions just to make the pain manageable."

She swallowed thickly. His speech made her feel nauseous. The only thing keeping her from fleeing or crying was his repeated use of her name and his look of reassurance on his face. "What do you want me to do sir in order to prepare for this?"

"Are you sure you are ready for this Ms. Granger? You will see things that will change your life. You might not be the same person you were after this war is over. Do not say yes because Dumbledore is forcing you to do this."

Again she swallowed and took a deep breath. She was a Gryffindor. She was a smart and brave witch. She can do anything if she put her mind to it. "Yes sir I am ready to do this. I know what to expect and I know I can do it."

"Alright then Ms. Granger. Remember there is no backing out of this once we start. Once you are in front of the Dark Lord you cannot run away. You cannot change your mind. It's a lifelong commitment until he dies. In order to prepare you for this we are going to train the next few weeks. I have a lot to teach you and very little time to do so. Unfortunately one of things I will have to teach you will be occlumency. We will also have to make false memories and practice having sex because if you even hesitate in front of the Dark Lord that can go bad for the both of us."

She was listening to every word until the word sex was said. _Sex with him?_ She felt her face heat up and she blushed to the roots of her hair. "I must have misheard you sir. We will be having sex?"

"Yes Ms. Granger we will in fact have to have sex. I am supposed to be seen as a mean bastard because I am a much older teacher that is seducing his pupil. You are supposed to be seen as an obedient student that will do anything to please her teacher even if it's joining the Dark Lord."

If possible her face heated up even more at his words. It wasn't that she wasn't interested in having sex with him. It's just that she never done it before and it all felt forced. He wouldn't be having sex with her unless it was part of the plan. She looked down sadly feeling hurt by this. She didn't want to have sex with him if there was no emotion to it whatsoever.

"What's wrong Ms. Granger? Are you already uncomfortable by this?"

She heard the disgust in his voice. _How dare he assume that I am disgusted by it? Maybe I just want you to care about me and not see me as some part of a means to an end._ She looked up angrily at him and snapped, "What's wrong is that I don't want to have sex with you if it's meant to be forced. I am not disgusted by it. If I'm meant to have sex with you I want it to be real. I want to feel some kind of emotion. I don't want to just lie there soullessly while you fuck me."

The biting words at him made his eyes narrow at her. "Watch your tone. I am trying to help you here and I did not warrant this attack."

"I love you Severus!" She blurted out at the top of her lungs. "That is why I do not want to have mechanical sex with you. It's not because I am not interested in it. It's because it will hurt me too much to be used by someone that I love. I know you don't believe me, but I honestly love you very much. You have to understand that it will be tough for me to just lay there while you don't care." She stood up and turned away from him not wanting him to see her tears.

Severus stood up from his chair and gently approached her. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder and said quietly, "Please turn and look at me Hermione." She hesitantly turned around and looked at him as tears dribbled down her face. He reached a hand out and wiped them away with his thumbs. "I am sorry Hermione for upsetting you." She watched him actually get nervousness in front of her. "I don't see you as just a student Hermione or a means to an end. I… I like you Hermione okay? Now please don't cry. I don't know how to handle crying woman."

She smiled at him and started to laugh. "You don't?"

"No I'm awful at it. I'm glad I got you to laugh." She wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He hesitated and hugged her back. "I might not be good at this Hermione. I'm letting you know that now, but I will try."

They both sat back down in their chairs and continued their conversation. "Severus I um… I never had sex before." She blushed again feeling mortified by having this conversation with him. It was embarrassing.

"Oh. I haven't thought of that. Well we'll work on that. I know this might be difficult Hermione, but I will try my best to make it easy on you."

She nodded and said, "Is there anything else you have to teach me for this plan to work?"

"I will also have to teach you dark magic. You will have to practice with both me and possibly dummies to make yourself strong. You will need to learn how to cast unforgiveable curses at people without feeling it. I'm sorry to have to say this but I think it would be best if I actually test spells on you as well. You won't be immune really but when you face the Dark Lord and he sends a crucio at you at least then you will be prepared for it."

She scrunched up her face in horror. _I'm going to have to be tortured again?_ She said hesitantly, "What does it feel like?"

He said, "It feels like all of your insides are twisting together and are tearing apart. Poor Longbottom's parents can never recover from their injuries from the cruciatus curse. It has lasting affects if it's done for too long. The pain you feel is nothing you have ever felt before."

A question crossed her mind as she thought of what she had to do. "How am I meant to make friends with the lower recruits when I'm a Gryffindor? Aren't most of them Slytherin's?"

"You're going to have to try Hermione. Most of the lower recruits are Slytherin's, but there are also a few that are Ravenclaw. I have never once seen a Hufflepuff and there is only three Gryffindor's but they are all older recruits. You will know one of them when you see him."

She growled in disgust, "Peter Pettigrew the slimy rat."

He said, "You got to impress them Hermione. They are Slytherin's so you got to show them how powerful your magic is. Show them that you can do powerful magic. Don't ever show weakness. If someone calls you a Mudblood you tell them my blood is far superior of them."

"Right so I have to be pompous just like Malfoy is."

"It works Hermione. At the beginning it will be tough. There will be times where you will regret your decision and times where you might end up crying to yourself but just know that I will be here for you Hermione. We are a team in this."

She felt tears stream down her face at his kind words. "You really mean that Severus?"

"I have decided Hermione that it's too much energy to be mad at you anymore. If we want this to work I can't be angry at you anymore. I am sorry for the mean words that I have said to you. It wasn't fair of me to attack you when I knew it wasn't your idea. Dumbledore does things without thinking of how other people would feel and I took my anger out on you when it should have been on the right person."

"I forgive you Severus. All I ever wanted was for you to stop hating me. I am sorry for the pain that I have caused you."

"It's all in the past. Let's not dwell on it. Let's move forward. I want to start teaching you occlumency tonight. Hopefully you are better at this then Potter was."

"You gave up on him," she said in defense to her best friend.

"I don't want to talk about Potter and his abysmal attempt at it. Are you ready to attempt it now? It's best we get started as soon as possible."

"Yes I am ready for my first attempt."


	30. Chapter 30

Severus snapped, "Control your emotions!"

"I am trying. We've been at this for two hours and I am exhausted. My head hurts," she groaned as she sagged against his desk. She didn't realize how difficult learning occlumency was. She had an extremely bad headache and the more he prodded at it the more severe it got.

Severus softened slightly at her look of exhaustion. "Hermione we cannot stop. We only have a few more weeks to prepare for this and we still got so much to do," he said calmly. He knew yelling at her would only make it worse.

"Am I at least making progress from my first attempt?" She wanted to know. She was so good at learning everything else, but this part of magic was becoming a hurdle that she couldn't see herself overcoming.

"I know it might not seem like it, but yes you actually are. Your walls are slowly starting to close in, but unfortunately because I have perfected my use of occulemency, I can easily break it down. You-Know-Who will not be as easy as I am. He will tear through your brain at wicked speed and will not stop until he finds what he wants. He too is also a very powerful occulemency and he will find what you are keeping from him if you do not perfect your walls and keep in your false memories."

She looked at him worriedly feeling nervousness in her belly. Her hands started to sweat and she became uneasy at his warning. "What if I can't make my walls stronger Severus? What if I am a failure?"

"Don't think like that Hermione. You are not a failure. You got to think positive. You have always learned how to do everything else with little to no help. If I didn't have faith in you I wouldn't have let Dumbledore do this."

She looked down at her shoes and said bashfully, "You never gave me compliments before."

"It would have been awkward, plus I have to show the Slytherin's that I dislike the Gryffindor's."

She lifted her head up at his last words. "So it's all an act then? You really aren't like that?"

He said honestly, "Most of it is an act. Some of it is real, but I exaggerate it. My dislike for Potter has to do with his father."

She said defensively, "But that's not fair. Harry is twice the man James was. He never bullied anyone."

He bit back the scowl that almost formed on his lips. "Potter believes he can do anything and not get any consequences for his actions," he retorted.

"How would you feel if you were brought into the wizarding world and were told that you were the chosen one? Everyone in this damn world knew his name and knew that because of him the Dark Lord had died. Honestly yes it has gotten to his head many times and I have tried to reel him back in, but he is a boy that believes everything people have told him since he got here. If you knew him the way that Ron and I knew him you wouldn't look at him the same way."

"Then tell me Hermione. How do you see the boy wonder?"

"Honestly he's my best friend. We have had our fights, but I love him as a brother. I fear for him every day. Every year we've been through something that no one should have had to go through. In our first year we were only eleven year olds. We had to go through that trapeze of challenges in order for him to get the philosopher's stone. We had to pass the dog, he had to find the key, I had to solve the puzzle with the potion's, and Ron had to play the chess game. Harry had to outsmart Professor Quirrel who in the end was the Dark Lord himself. That is not even the worst of it. Then in the second year Harry was looked at as some kind of killer. Many people believed he was the Heir of Slytherin because he can talk to snakes. Everyone he thought supported him turned his back on him and again he had to face off against You-Know-Who and the large snake. He almost died during that fight, but thanks to Fawkes he survived. Then in our third year we almost died by a werewolf. Remus didn't know what he was doing, but that still doesn't change that fact. In fourth year Harry had to face the World Cup and then had to face You-Know-Who in the flesh. He watched Cedric die and then almost died himself. He barely escaped with his life. Last year was the worst year for Harry. He lost his Godfather. I know you hate him for what he has done to you, but Harry felt like he finally found someone that understood him and was a part of his family that didn't hate him. When he lost him it really was hard for him to come back from that. Harry has been through a lot and I don't think it's fair that people give him a lot of crap for it. Yes he is lazy and yes he has a large ego, but that doesn't mean he's a bad person. He is only 16 and he has dealt with more than what most people have in their life."

He listened to her talk and understood her overwhelming sense of protection for the boy he so despised. "Alright since you like Potter so much I will refrain from talking bad about him. I will try to be amicable with him after the war ends. Let us please move on to our training."

She smiled at him feeling some sense of accomplishment from her rant. "Okay I'm ready to move on."

"Since we have been practicing for over two hours, I want to start working on false memories because it is a part of your training."

"Is it difficult to plant false memories into your mind?"

"Yes. Many wizards and witches cannot do it, but I have confidence in you."

"What kind of false memories are we going to be making?"

"You and I are going to have to act out scenes to make it believable that I seduced you. Then you are going to have to plant those memories inside your head, so that when the Dark Lord looks inside your mind he will believe full hardly that I seduced you. Not that you were hired to do this on your own free will, which also means that we have to start working on having sex because in your memories you have to show him that we are having sex and that I am seducing you in order to do so."

She blushed again at hearing the word sex. They haven't talked about it again since the last time he brought it up. She still felt nervous about it and she took a deep breath to calm herself. "Shall we start making our false memories now?" She pretended to be brave, but deep inside she was scared.

"Yes we shall start. Our first false memory will be you having a detention with me. During that detention I will seduce you. We will have to charm your clothes to look like your school uniform and then we can begin."

She said, "Wait what would be the reason I fall for your charms?"

"We have to decide on that. One reason can be grades. We can pretend that you only have an Exceeds Expectations in the class and you need an Outstanding to become a Potion's Mistress. I can give you that grade if you just give me what I want."

"So I would automatically join the side of the dark because of that?" She said quizzically. It didn't really make sense. Why would anyone believe she would sell herself for grades?

"No not exactly." He cleared his throat uncomfortably and continued on. "There is a group of people called Submissive's. Those types will do anything to please the man they are with. If you do not like that route we could also go the other route, which is I find out you always had a crush on me and are always trying to get my attention. That one I feel is tough to go with and many people might not believe it."

The more he explained it the more she understood. "I think it would be more believable that I only have an Exceeds Expectations then."

"Then let's start working with that." He took out his wand and charmed her clothes to look like her school uniform. "You have detention because you blew up a potion and during your detention you find out you only have an Exceeds Expectations. Now just play along. I will be sitting at my desk. I want you to go outside and knock on the door and wait for me to say enter."

She said, "What if I'm not good at this?"

"Hermione just go with it. I have faith in you." She nodded her head and walked out of his classroom feeling kind of silly. She closed the door. She turned towards the door and knocked on it. She heard him say "enter." She walked inside and closed the door behind her. She made the slow walk to his desk schooling her features to look nervous. She took a seat and waited for him to address her. He looked up at her and said, "Ms. Granger do you know why you have detention?"

She stuttered out, "B-B-Because I destroyed a p-p-potion s-s-sir."

"Why did you destroy a simple lust potion Ms. Granger? Was it because you are incompetent of following directions or was there another reason all together?" He spat out at her getting well into his role as evil Potion's Professor.

She looked down at her hands in shame. "I am sorry Professor Snape. I was distracted by Neville and I wasn't paying attention. I promise I won't do it again sir." She looked back up at him biting her lip in nervousness.

He said snidely, "Did the useless boy cause you to only have an Exceeds Expectations in my class?"

She gaped at him in shock. "Oh sir please. I can't have an Exceeds Expectations. I've been trying so hard and I have an Outstanding in all my other classes. There must be some kind of mistake," she said worriedly. Her voice shook in fake nervousness and she felt a sense of pride of her acting skills.

"Unfortunately Ms. Granger it is not. Every potion you have made has barely met my standards and with this last one giving you a grade of zero you are almost at Expectations. How many more mistakes can you have until your precious grade is ruined?"

She started to beg. "Please sir there must be something I can do to increase my grade. Do you have extra credit or potions that need to be made? Every day I can swing by your classroom and clean cauldrons for you or stock your shelves," she pleaded.

"I am surprised at you Ms. Granger. Are you implying that I should just give you extra points instead of having you do actual work? That just won't do at all Ms. Granger. You know I don't give extra credit or make mere students make my potions. Tick tock Ms. Granger we are almost out of time." She got out of her chair and went down on her knees.

She clasped her hands together and begged again, "Please sir. I need an Outstanding to be a potion's mistress. Anything besides that and I won't be able to take on an Apprentice. Please sir. I'll do anything you want."

"Ms. Granger don't say things you don't really mean. I would be careful before I start making promises."

"I mean it sir. I will do absolutely anything you want. I really need that grade." She watched as his eyes flashed in sexual carnality.

He stood up and said possessively, "Undress for me Ms. Granger."

She swallowed in nervousness and remembered the role she was playing. "Excuse me sir?"

He reminded her with a slight warning in his voice, "You did say anything and this is what I want. If you have sex with me and give me anything that I desire, I will give you the points you want. So what do you say Ms. Granger do you want to stay at Exceeds Expectations and hope you might catch up in time or undress for me right now?" He leered at her as she thought about the choices she had. She got off of the floor and back onto her feet. Her hands slowly started on the buttons of her shirt. He said seductively, "You will do anything for your professor wont you?"

"Yes sir."

"Alright stop Hermione don't go any further," he said as he watched her unbutton the third button and her bra started to show.

She quickly buttoned her shirt back up feeling her face heated up. "Did I do well?" She looked up at him hopefully. She needed him to say yes. She craved his acknowledgment. For years she wanted him to praise her and this time he rewarded her.

"Yes you did perfect Hermione. Now that memory is very important, because that is how our relationship supposedly started. That is what the Dark Lord and his followers will have to believe and you got to make it believable when you show it to him. I am very proud of you Hermione. You did great." She smiled at him feeling her heart swell at his praise.

"Thank you Severus." She wanted to hug him, but she knew their relationship was still not what it used to be. At times it was awkward because Hermione was ready to hug him and love him like they use to, but Severus kept her at arm's length. He wasn't ready yet and Hermione respected it. She would wait until he was.


	31. Chapter 31

**Hello everyone! Here is the next installment of Hermione's Future. Hermione and Severus are starting to get a little closer to each other and it's again another training chapter. I had to replace this chapter because of spelling errors. Please don't forget to leave a review!**

After a few days have passed, Hermione arrived in Severus's classroom ready for her training. The last few days, Hermione has been practicing her Occlumency and her fake memories. She was starting to get really good at it and she actually looked forward to their training sessions every day. She hid it well from her friends and they haven't suspected her of lying to them. When she arrived at his classroom this morning, Severus greeted her at the door. "Good morning Hermione. We will not be practicing in my rooms today. It is too dangerous and we need a wide open space for you to practice. Instead we will be practicing in the room of requirements."

She nodded at him in understanding. "Does that mean we will be practicing spells today?"

"Yes. It is time that we practice spell casting and unfortunately Hermione…" He hesitated slightly, but he gained his composure back. "I will also have to cast on you Hermione. I am sorry."

She again nodded at him in understanding already knowing it was going to happen eventually. She followed Severus to the Room of Requirement trying to feel brave by what was to come. She didn't look forward to being tortured, but she knew it was a must if she wanted to be a spy. To break the silence she commented, "It's a good thing that the holidays are still going on."

"That's exactly what Dumbledore said when he came to me with this idea of his." They reached the room. He opened the door and Hermione saw that inside was an empty field with magical dummies and an empty table. They both walked inside and closed the door behind them. Severus took out the pain-relief potions he had and also two blood repleneshers.

"Am I going to be drinking all of those?" She asked worriedly as she stared at the five potions that were laid out.

He said solemnly, "At the end of this you might have to. First I'm going to have you test those spells first before I cast on you because after I cast on you it will take awhile for you to recuperate."

"What was your initiation like?" She asked curiously

He said uncomfortably, "My task was similar to what all male death eaters are ordered to do. I had to rape a muggle woman and then kill her as everyone cheered."

She put a hand to her mouth in horror. "God that must've been truly awful, Severus. I know I pushed you to join and I'm sorry, but what made you want to join in the first place?"

"I didn't have any friends except for those in my own house. I wanted to fit in and I started learning spells that turned Lily away, but not you. I thought I found someone that would stick by me and keep me in the light, but then you left. I felt I didn't have anybody and when the winter holidays were here I decided to listen to my friends. They told me how great the people were and honestly one of the reasons I joined was because I was angry at both you and Lily, which are in fact muggleborn. I'm not proud of that fact. Honestly I'm disgusted that part of me did it out of anger. Can we move on from this conversation?"

She instantly regretted asking him that question by the look on his face. She knew he didn't want to admit that to her and she was surprised he even did. "Okay so what spell should I cast first?"

"The killing curse will be the first you should practice. It is the hardest spell to cast and you have to mean it Hermione, even when you don't want to kill anyone. So what I want you to do is take out your wand and point it to the dummy. It is magical so it will react when it works."

She pointed her wand at it and she cleared her throat in nervousness. "Avada Kedavra." Nothing happened. She said sadly, "Why didn't it work? I'm always good at spells."

"You have to say it with more force. It's not a normal spell Hermione. It's dark magic. Think of someone you want to kill and point your wand and say it with as much power as you can." She took a deep breath and imagined Lord Voldemort in her mind.

She said with as much venom as she can muster, "Avada Kadabra!" Green sparks came out of her wand and hit the dummy directly. The dummy fell to the floor instantly dead from the spell.

He nodded at her and said, "Very good Hermione. Let's try it again this time a little more quickly."

Again Hermione stood in front of the dummy, which was now alive again. She gripped her wand and she shouted at it, "Avada Kedavra!" Again the dummy fell to floor. This time Hermione didn't have to muster up any courage. She was easily able to kill it without thinking about it, which scared her.

Severus saw the look on her face. "Don't Hermione. I know and everyone else knows that you are not a killer. Don't start second guessing yourself."

"It's just that… I didn't expect to be able to do it so easily. I had no second thoughts about casting it. Is that how Death Eater's feel when they kill someone?"

"Some yes. I am not going to get into it with you Hermione, but there are wizards that can easily cast it and have no remorse for what they do. I am not one of them. Now let's move on to our next spell. The cruciatus curse is next. This spell doesn't require as much force as the killing curse, but you also have to mean it when you cast it. Bellatrix loves that spell and Voldemort can get crucio crazy when he's angry. I need you to be able to do this spell because he will ask you if you can cast it. He might even ask you to cast it on me and guess what? You will. You can't hesitate Hermione."

"But I don't want to hurt you!" She exclaimed in horror.

"He's going to test you Hermione and I will forgive you if you have to cast that spell."

She looked at the next dummy and took a deep breath. She clutched her wand tightly. "Crucio!" She said the word laced with venom and she saw as the dummy fell to the floor. It started seizing and began shrieking loudly. She quickly stopped the spell when it began to shriek. "That's truly awful. I don't know if I can cast that on anyone."

"I'm sorry Hermione, but that is what we must do. Are you ready for the last curse or do you need a break?"

She turned to him knowing she had to keep going. "Imperio next?"

He nodded and said, "Yes Imperio. It's the easiest of the three, but it is still a dark spell."

She pointed her wand at the last dummy. She casted the spell and it hit the dummy. The dummy turned to her waiting for her command. "Dance for me dummy." The dummy danced. "Jump up and down." The dummy jumped up and down. She stopped the spell and turned back towards Severus. "I learned all of the spells. Is there anything else I need to cast?" She saw as a grimace cross his face.

"Unfortunately Hermione this is just the beginning. Now I have to cast on you. I hate that I have to do this Hermione and I hope you understand why."

"I love you Severus. I know you have to do this and I forgive you."

His lips turned up at her sentiment and he felt he didn't deserve her kindness. "I am going to start off lightly just so you can get a taste for it, but keep in mind the spell can go on for up to an hour." He pointed his wand at her and said, "Prepare yourself Hermione."

Hermione closed her eyes and braced herself for what was about to happen. "I'm ready."

He said solemnly, "I'm sorry Hermione. Crucio."

She fell to the floor and started seizing. After 5 seconds of hearing her screams he let the spell go. She was crying silently from the pain it had. "That is the most pain I ever felt in my life. Even Rodolphus and Regulus couldn't top that. You said he does this for an hour?"

He said, "Depends on how heinous your crime is. I once was hit and was left with that spell for 30 minutes because I didn't give enough information about Potter."

She stared at him in shock "You didn't scream?"

"No. I mean it hurts like hell, but you learn to suppress it. Honestly, the more pain you show him the longer he uses it for. Do you want to try again?"

She took a deep breath. She really didn't want to, but she wanted to try and see if she can suppress her screams. She picked herself off the floor and said "Ready as I ever will be." Again the spell hit her. She fell to the floor and she started whimpering. She didn't scream as the spell went on. When the spell went on for a full minute he finally stopped the spell. He helped her sit up and handed her a pain-relief potion.

"I am proud of you Hermione. Most likely the whimpers can't be controlled, but your screams are what he is really controlled by. I am happy that you are able to keep them inside." She swallowed the potion and made a face.

"It doesn't taste very good."

"No potion does because of the ingredients that are involved. I have two more things that I have to unfortunately cast on you. Tell me when you're ready."

Hermione stood up and took a deep breath. She really didn't want to do this anymore, but damn it. She was a Gryffindor. She had to act like one. "I'm ready."

He pointed his wand at her and again casted "Crucio." She fell to the floor and started to spasm. She was whimpering and tears were streaming down her face, but again she wasn't screaming. While Hermione was still seizing, he casted it again. The pain became double the amount. She bit her lip trying not to cry out, but it was no use. She cried out and screamed. He stopped the spell once she started screaming. "Good effort. Again it is not very easy to hold it in." He handed her another pain potion.

She drank it down and said in disappointment, "It's impossible. I mean it hurts so bad and to just cast it again when you are already in pain is evil and demonic."

He sat down next to her and awkwardly pulled her into his arms. He wanted to give her comfort and this was the only way he knew how. "When I started as a death eater I wasn't able to handle it either. It was embarrassing because all these upper ranks saw me as a lowly recruit and thought I couldn't take it. I would scream and cry, but after a year of being hit and tortured so many times because of my insolence I was able to succumb the pain. That is why I am a master at Occlumency. He was never able to look into my mind and find my true intentions. Now do you want to try something else added on to the cruciatus curse or do you want to take a break?"

She groaned. She wanted this to be over. "Is it more painful than this?"

"Unfortunately yes. I am adding another piece, which requires me to look inside your mind, while you are being tortured. This will be the hardest thing you have to do Hermione for your training. I wish we had a few more days, but unfortunately we do not. We still have to make more false memories, which isn't easy. You will also have to learn how to make false memories out of your imagination. I also advise you that you do not get caught by your friends sneaking down to my rooms or that you are a spy."

She nodded in understanding knowing he was right. "Is this the most painful thing I have to do?"

"I wish I can tell you yes Hermione, but the most painful thing you will have to do physically is getting the dark mark. Unfortunately though you are a woman. I will try to save you as best as I can, but if he is unhappy with you he just might have the others have a go at you if you know what I mean."

She said quietly, "I'll try to make him happy with me."

He helped her up and pulled her into a hug. He realized with these meetings that they were having he was starting to fall for her again. The dangerous aspect of it all scared him immensely. He didn't want to lose her. He just got her back. With as much confidence as he can muster he said to her calmly, "It will be okay Hermione. We will get through this." She clung to him and started crying. He summoned an arm chair and sat down with her in his arms. He coddled her as she cried.

When her tears ceased she said jokingly, "Better be careful. People will start to think you aren't the evil bastard you betray yourself as."

"Well done Ms. Granger you just called your Professor a bastard. I can still take points away." She saw that he was only joking and she smiled at him in response.

She got up from his embrace and said, "Alright I think I am ready for the next part of my training."

He said, "Prepare your walls. Do not let me in Hermione." She imagined the walls in her head closing in on itself and a lock being placed. She nodded at him. He pointed his wand at her and said, "Crucio." When Hermione started thrashing all about again on the floor, he delved into her mind. Her walls were up and were firmly in place. He nudged them gently. They stayed in place. He nudged them again. They still didn't budge. He pushed hard against her walls. They cracked slightly. He then pushed with all his might and her walls came crashing down. He exited her mind and stopped the spell. She clutched her head tightly and whimpered. He handed her another pain-relief.

She swallowed the potion and whimpered miserably, "I wasn't strong enough. The pain was too much." He sat down next to her and held her in his arms again.

"You will be able to do it Hermione. You just got to keep practicing. I think it's almost time for lunch. Do you want to go to the Great Hall and get something to eat and finish this afterwards?"

She said, "Yes please. My body needs a break from this."

He said, "Keep in mind. Lasting effects of the cruciatus curse includes twitching of your limbs."


	32. Chapter 32

**Hello Everyone! I thought I wouldn't get this chapter out today, but surprisingly I did. I am currently sick, so there's that. This is again another training chapter. Pretty soon it will be time for Hermione to take the mark, but not until a few more. Please enjoy the chapter. Don't forget to leave a review!**

Today was another day of training for Hermione. She was slowly becoming a master at Occlumency. Every day they practiced perfecting her walls and making sure they couldn't be breached. Their training sessions were unfortunately slowly coming to a close. The students will be returning from the holidays in a few days and Hermione had to be ready. She still struggled with getting tortured. It was painful and to suppress it was difficult. They have tried many times, but the overuse of it was starting to worry the both of them. Instead of Severus casting on her today, they both agreed to work on more false memories. The only memory Hermione has perfected so far was their first meeting together. It was shown in her mind perfectly, but she had to add more to it if she was to be believable as a new recruit. The first false memory that they decided on was another time she got in trouble in class.

She was currently sitting in front of Professor Snape's desk. That's where she found herself starting off this false memory. She watched as Professor Snape dipped his quill into an ink plot and continue to write on a piece of paper. After a few more minutes have passed he put down his quill and looked up at her. She instantly said guiltily, "I am sorry Professor Snape for ruining perfectly good salamander guts. It was an accident. I will never do it again." She watched as his face changed to a mask of fully fledged fury. If they weren't doing this for a fake memory she would be crying in fright by the look on his face.

"I didn't ask for you to speak," he spat in anger.

She squeaked out in fear, "I'm sorry sir."

He continued on in his natural slow drawl. "I know for a fact it was no accident Ms. Granger. Tell me Ms. Granger. When did you start falling for your Professor? Was it before or after you sold your body to me for a simple grade?"

A sick grin crossed his face and she shuddered in disgust. She flushed at his words and pretended to feign ignorance. "I don't know what you are talking about."

He leaned over his desk and got closer to her face. "Don't lie to me."

She felt tiny droplets of spittle fall on her face from his close proximity. She hesitantly wiped her face with her sleeve. She swallowed in fake nervousness and answered honestly. "I fell for you in my third year when you protected us from Professor Lupin. Ever since then I have wanted you, sir."

His eyes flashed with lust. "Was destroying your potion in our last visit really because of the idiot boy or did you simply want my attention?"

She blushed furiously at his words. "I wanted your attention, sir. I wanted to be noticed and you never called on me when I had my hand raised in class. I have craved your attention for years and there was no other way to get it. I am sorry sir."

He asked, "Is that why you destroyed my ingredients in class today?"

She said guiltily, "Yes sir. You acted like it never happen and I just wanted to be alone with you." She looked down in shame at her words.

"I am not pleased Ms. Granger at all. Those ingredients cost me a lot of money. Do you think as a teacher that I make enough money to just go out and buy unlimited ingredients?"

She looked up quickly at his words. "No sir of course not. I am sorry. I just wanted to see you. Please sir. I need your attention. I crave it every day."

His lips curled up slightly and he said in anger, "Oh you will be sorry Ms. Granger. Very sorry for what you have done."

"Oh please sir. I will do anything to make it up to you." Again she knew exactly what he expected her to do.

"Strip for me Ms. Granger. You will follow every command I say until I feel like you have made your atonement to me. Is that understood?"

She nodded meekly at him. "Yes sir." She started to peel off her shirt for him. Her hands shook in fake excitement and nervousness.

Once she got it off her body and her hands headed down to her skirt, Severus put his hand up to stop it. Part of him wanted her to keep going, but he knew they weren't ready yet for that. He watched in disappointment as she hurriedly buttoned up her shirt. Her cheeks were stained with the color pink from what she just did. Part of him hoped that maybe one day she wouldn't be so nervous in front of him. He wasn't a monster. He was mean to an extent, but not to her. He cleared his throat and shook his head. "Alright are you ready for the third memory that we are going to try?"

She wanted to tell him how she felt about their arrangement so bad, but she didn't want to push him. She honestly felt ready to have sex with him. She knew it was going to happen very soon and if she was to have false memories about them being in a relationship it was better now than later. She had more time to plant them in their head and show them as experienced lovers. Not as a one night thing. "What is our next memory Severus?" She decided to ask him after they finished their memories to see how he would respond.

"In this memory you found out about your parents lying to you. Here take this fake letter that I wrote for you and sit in front of my desk. Get ready Hermione because we are going to start."

She acquiesced to his request and took a seat in front of his desk holding the letter. Hermione again started the next memory sitting in front of Professor Snape's desk. She clutched the letter he had sent and looked up at him. She looked into his dark, black, and penetrating eyes. "You have called for me sir?"

He said, "Yes Ms. Granger. I found out from the Headmaster the other day that you are in fact a Pure Blood. You were adopted by your Muggle parents and they kept it a secret from you."

"What? There must be some kind of mistake, sir. This can't be true. My parents were even shocked when they found out I was a witch. They would never lie to me." Her face and voice perfectly showed a look of shock and confusion.

He shook his head in sadness. "I am afraid not Ms. Granger. It seems like your parents didn't find it pertinent to disclose your true identity. Because of this new speculation I need a favor to ask of you my pet. You will do anything for me wont you Ms. Granger?" He leered at her daring her to deny him.

She swallowed thickly at the look on his face. "Oh yes sir I will. I've been trying so hard to please you. What is it that you need?"

"You have done so well my pet, but now I need you to join me on my side, the side of the dark, the side of the Dark Lord Ms. Granger. He is looking for new recruits in a few weeks and because of your new identity and our relationship, I believe that you will be the perfect person to join his ranks."

She shook her head in denial. "B-But s-sir I can't do that. I love Harry as a brother. I can't betray his trust. He's my best friend. I won't do it."

He stood up and shouted over her, "Love? You worship me don't you? You want to please me and do anything you can to make me happy?" He towered over her by his incredible size.

She cowered over his evil stare and she responded weakly, "Yes sir. I want to please you and make you happy so much, sir."

"Then join me my pet. Make me the happiest wizard alive. Come on pet this is your true calling. You're a pure blood. You are so much better than those muggles that claim to have the power. Show them that you are more than that. Show them that you truly earn your status as a witch. Most of all show me that you are proud to be by my side."

She stood up and said in fake eagerness, "I will do it sir anything for you."

He went around the desk and held her close to his chest. "That's my girl. You will do anything for me wont you?" He asked evilly.

"Yes sir."

He released his grip and stepped away from her. "You really are good at making false memories Hermione. I appreciate the effort you are putting into this. I know it's not what any of us want, but I am so proud of you."

She beamed up at him feeling her heart swell from his praise. Again she wanted to tell him about her feelings about having sex with him, but he had other ideas.

"So now that we practiced those two memories I would like to move us to the Room of Requirement for the rest of our training."

She opened her mouth to say something, but she lost her courage. Instead, she closed it and nodded in agreement. The two of them left his classroom and walked down the hallway together in comfortable silence. While they were walking they ran into Dumbledore.

"Good evening Severus! Good evening Ms. Granger! Where are you two headed?" Dumbledore asked with a smirk on his face.

Severus gave him a scathing look. "Doing what you asked us to do old man, now let us pass. We don't have time for your games."

He put his hands up in defense. "I was just asking Severus. No need to get angry with me. How are you doing Ms. Granger?"

"Fine sir thank you," she answered politely. Sure she was angry at him, but he was her Headmaster.

"Remember Severus you only have a few days left until the students return. By then Ms. Granger should already have taken the mark. I would start moving on to the next part of her training if you want this to work."

Severus didn't bother giving him a respond. He grabbed Hermione's arm and marched towards the Room of Requirement with an angry scowl on his face. He was gripping her arm tightly until he heard her squeak out a painful gasp. He quickly let go of her arm when he realized what he was doing. "I'm sorry Hermione."

She smiled at him. "No harm done. I'm angry too." They walked into the Room of Requirement and it transformed into a wide open field with dummies prepared to fight.

"Alright Hermione today you are going to be practicing spell casting again. You will be doing a lot of fighting when you are a spy and working for the Dark Lord. You cannot show your inexperience, which is why we are practicing this again. Now take out your wand and start fighting."

Hermione clutched her wand tightly and she started the fight with the dummies. There was currently only three dummies engaged, but she knew later on Severus would make her fight more. She pointed her wand to the first dummy and casted Avada Kedavra. She didn't even take a second look as she pivoted around and sent expelliarmus on the other dummy, who was about to cast. The last dummy she quickly blocked the stinging jinx it sent at her and she casted in response an expulso. It exploded in feathers. She slowly lowered her wand and wiped the sweat off her forehead. She turned towards her trainer expecting praise, but instead she was met with a frown on his face.

"You got to be quicker than that Hermione. They are dummies and not experienced wizards."

She looked down in sadness. "You know I'm not good at Defense Against the Dark Arts. It's my only weakness," she said quietly. She was disappointed that she didn't do as well as she hoped.

He said, "I thought your weakness was Divination."

She scowled in anger. "That class shouldn't even count. She was loony and I hated every minute with her."

"You're not bad at this Hermione. I have seen you duel with others and you never had any problems whatsoever. You are just nervous. I want you to take a deep breath and try again. I know you can do this. You are an excellent witch. Do not let this defeat."

"I guess you are right Severus. I will try again." She turned towards the dummies feeling more confident than ever.

"Remember the quicker you cast the quicker the battle. Cast quickly and don't get distracted. One distraction can cost you your life."

She clutched her wand tightly and she started the fight again. This time she casted quicker and finished them off in what she felt was a success, but again Severus was not pleased.

He said, "That was better Hermione, but this is too easy. They fight like first years when they should be like Death Eaters."

She sighed in annoyance, but instead of getting angry she took a deep breath and started over again. "Alright I'll put them on the hardest level." She altered the dummies and took another deep breath. She started them up and began the fight. She started casting on them, but she did not see the one that was starting to get behind her. They started circling her and closing in. She was able to shoot down two that were in front of her, but the one that she didn't see casted a stinging jinx at her. She quickly stopped the fight and cursed loudly in the quiet room.

"Do it again."

She turned and glared at him in annoyance. She begrudgingly turned back around and started it again. Unfortunately she ended up with the same results.

She shouted at Severus in anger, "How the hell do you fight 3 at once? It's not fair. It's 3 wands against 1. I can't do it."

He closed the space between them and lowered his voice to a gentle soothing tone. "Focus, Hermione. You need to channel all of your energy. Try again just one more time for me?"

She took a deep breath and said, "Okay I'll try again." She started it up again and this time focused on her magic with all her power. She felt her shield spell come around her and she quickly started to cast against the dummies. When the last dummy fell to the ground she let go of her shield spell. She jumped up and down in excitement and turned towards Severus. "I did it!"

He smiled at her excitement. "Very good, Hermione. I knew you can do it. Good idea using your shield spell."

"I wish I can practice on a real person though, Severus."

"Well we could always try on each other, but no unforgivables and no serious spells that can injure one another."

"I am up for the challenge."

The two of them went to opposite sides of the room. "Keep in mind I have been a wizard longer than you have and been dueling all my life," Severus warned her.

She said snidely in response, "Keep in mind I am the smartest witch of my age thank you very much."

He rolled his eyes at her response. "We will see, Hermione" They bowed to each other and they began their duel. He was quick to cast the first spell, which ended up being rictusempra. She wasn't prepared for his quick cast. She ended up on the floor laughing. He ended the spell. She quickly stood back up and pointed her wand at him.

"Tarantallegra!" She shouted back at him.

Severus quickly side stepped her spell and casted back "Protego." Again Hermione wasn't able to avoid it. She started dancing around the room.

She ended the spell and shouted at him in anger, "Immobulus."

He repelled the spell and sent at her "Expelliarmus."

She repelled the spell as well and sent back at him, "Aguamenti." She wasn't prepared for the next spell that was sent at her. She fell back on her bottom hard. She stood up again and gritted her teeth in anger. She was losing and it was pissing her off.

She felt her magic swirl through her and shouted at him again, "Immobulus."

He again repelled it and casted at her, "Levicorpus." She felt her magic shield come up in defense. The spell bounced off her shield and ended up hitting him in response. He was hanging there upside down with his wand on the floor and out of his reach.

She let him down gently and said lamely, "You repelled everything I threw at you."

He picked himself up off the floor and stared at her in shock. "How did you do that last one?"

"I used my shield spell and it bounced the spell back at you. If I can't defeat my opponent I try to get my defensive up. I might not be good at spells, but I'm good at defending myself."

"How long can you keep that spell up for?"

"I don't know, Severus. I never actually tried, but I think for awhile."

"Can you cast while your shield is up?"

"Yes I believe I can."

"Let's try it again, but keep your shield up the whole time." Hermione and Severus practiced the rest of the day with perfecting Hermione spells and her use of her shield.


	33. Chapter 33

**Hello everyone! This chapter is an M-rated one so be warned. This is the first ever sex-scene that I ever written and I hope it came out okay. Please leave a review and tell me what you think.**

Hermione uncomfortably sat in Professor Snape's office. She was finally ready to tell him how she felt about having sex with him. She was scared, nervous, and honestly a little curious. She was young and a teenager. Who wouldn't be curious about having sex? A part of her was scared though because she didn't know what to expect. She also didn't want him to push her away. She needed him to reassure her. She needed him to be gentle with her. There was also a part of her that felt bad that they were forced to do this. It would be different if they were dating for awhile and eventually came to this, but they still were barely friends at this point in their relationship. She knew he had other plans for their training today, but she remembered what Dumbledore said. If she really was meant to be believable they couldn't keep putting it off.

"Um Severus I need to tell you something." Hermione slowly was going to ease it on to him. She was scared of what his response will be, but she also knew that he knew he had to do this eventually.

"What is it Hermione? I thought we were going to start our training," Severus said slightly annoyed.

"Um… I've been thinking about this the last few days and I think we should um…" God she was nervous. It was difficult for her to get the words out, but she knew that she had to say it. "I think we should have sex." It came out quickly and she quickly looked down at her knees. She blushed hard and she swallowed in nervousness. She started playing with the bottom of her shirt and she waited impatiently for him to speak.

"We are not ready for this," he said carefully in response.

"When will we ever be Severus? Dumbledore is right. We have to move on to the next step if we want this to work." She looked up at him wanting him to just listen to her.

He slammed his hands on his desk and shouted at her, "I am not ready for this Hermione! I don't want to have to take your innocence away. I hate that I am forced to do this and I hate that you are all ready for this to happen. I cannot do this Hermione. You deserve better. You deserve better than me." His voice trailed off in the end. He was mortified that he lost his composure. He was trained to be a spy and keep his emotions in check, but talking to her instantly made him pour his heart out. "You really are okay with me taking your innocence away?" He said the words in disgust. He wasn't disgusted at her, but more so with himself.

"Not this early no, but I meant it when I said I loved you Severus. I know you don't believe me and I know you think I deserve better, but you are the one that I want." She felt horrible that he felt this way, but she was glad that he told her how he felt. She was so used to him keeping her at arm's length and masking his emotions, but he was slowly showing her the other side of him that no one else got to see.

"Hermione if we do this there is no going back. People are going to know. Are you sure you want to do this?" He wanted her to say no, but he knew she was too Gryffindor to back down. He knew she was going to say yes and he hated that he had no choice in the matter. He felt like he was at another dark revel event with the Death Eaters. He was forced to rape women time and time again to prove his worth and he didn't want Hermione to be one of them.

Hermione saw the look on his face and she softened at the emotion that he showed deep within his eyes. "Severus I know how you are feeling. Don't think of this as something you have to do, but something we both desire."

He stood up in exasperation at her words. "But it isn't what we desire Hermione! I am almost 20 years older than you. I am too old and too scarred of a person for you to love. Go find somebody else to love. Go find somebody who is younger than me and somebody who isn't as damaged." He didn't understand why Hermione kept pushing this on him. Why did she love him so much? He wasn't worth it.

She felt her heart break at his words. She hated that he felt this way about himself. His whole life he was beaten down and felt like he didn't deserve anyone, but she was here to prove him wrong. "Listen to me Severus. I am not backing down from this. Why is it so difficult for you to understand that there is someone out there who loves you? I care about you a whole deal Severus and I want you to be the one to make love to me. Nobody else makes me feel this way but you." She hoped that her words would sink in and he would stop fighting this. He had to let go of this deep rooted anger and just let her love him like he deserved. She saw with disappointment a deep scowl etch into his face.

"You do not want me Hermione. It's an illusion. You loved a misunderstood boy that I cannot be anymore. I do not feel the same way I once did. I am sorry."

She knew he was lying to get her to stop this madness, but she was a Gryffindor for fuck sakes. She was not letting him do this. She ripped open her shirt and she heard the satisfying sounds of all the buttons popping off. She looked him in the eye and said, "Tell me Severus that you don't have an ounce of the same feelings as you once did. Tell me that you don't want me and I will walk away from this now and never talk to you again. Stop pushing me away. I am not a little girl. I can make my own choices and I know that I want you. Look at me and tell me that you don't want the same."

Severus hesitantly looked over at her body and heard the words that she spat out at him. His hands itched to touch her soft white skin. He wanted to keep fighting this, but he knew it was a losing game for him. He lowered his shoulders in defeat. "Alright Hermione you win."

She walked around his desk and put a hand on his cheek. "I love you Severus and I trust you. I know you won't hurt me."

His eyes softened and all his anger dissipated by the touch of her hand. He leaned into her hand and said, "One last chance Hermione. I won't be angry at you if you turn away from this."

"I am ready Severus. Show me what it's like."

He closed his eyes at her words and reopened them. He nodded slowly and grabbed her hand. He walked to the painting on the wall of his office. He muttered the password and the painting swung open. "If you ever need to get into my personal rooms the password is asphodel." She nodded in understanding and locked it away into her mind to use for later. They walked down an empty hallway that was lit by candlelight. They reached a black door and Severus led them inside. Hermione found herself in Severus's living room. It was absolutely amazing and not what she expected. His walls were all bookshelves that were filled to the brim with books. He had a long black couch and two comfortable looking armchairs to sit in. He also had a coffee table in front of the couch that had a book lying on top of it along with a pair of reading glasses. He felt her stop walking and he turned to her. He saw the look on her face and he chuckled. "Yes Hermione I like to read as well."

She turned and said, "Can I read some of your books?"

"Maybe one day. Let me show you the rest of my rooms." He led her to the kitchen, which was very small, but then again he was a wizard that lived in a castle with elves that gave him anything he requested. There was a sink, cabinets, a small fridge, and a kitchen table that sat only two people. He then brought her through another hallway. He opened one door and said, "This here is the bathroom if you need it." He reached the end of the hall and opened the door. "And this here is my bedroom." They walked inside and he closed the door. Inside was a simple layout. He had a large bed that had dark green covers, a closet in the corner, and a wooden dresser made from mahogany.

"You have a very nice set up Severus. It actually feels very homey. I wouldn't mind living here."

He turned to her and that is when the awkwardness between them mounted. They both didn't know how to start this and neither one of them wanted to go too fast and ruin it. Hermione still stood there in front of him without her shirt on. To break the silence she said quietly to him, "Since I don't have my shirt on anymore how about you start to take your clothes off." She surprisingly saw him blush by her words.

"Hermione I… This might surprise you, but I never actually been naked in front of anyone." For once he actually felt nervous in front of another person. He didn't want her to find him unattractive once she saw what was underneath all his dark clothing.

She reached up to his big black buttons on his dark heavy robes. "Here I will help you take it off." She started to slowly go through each button and Severus stood there uncomfortably as she did so. He wanted to stop her hands from going any further, but he stood there as a statue letting her go on. The only thing keeping him from batting her hands away was the look of determination on her face. It turned him on. She reached the last button and peeled off his wizard rope. She let it fall to the floor and he was left with a black dress shirt underneath. "How do you not overheat wearing all of this?"

"I'm used to wearing all of this and remember I live in the dungeons where it is always cold," he reminded her.

She continued undressing him by starting on his shirt buttons. As each sliver of skin was exposed, the more uncomfortable he got. He didn't want to show her his scars that were underneath. When she unbuttoned half of his shirt he stilled her hands and shook his head at her. "What's wrong Severus?" He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't get the words out. He started to walk away from her feeling stupid for even letting this happen. She pulled him back and put both hands on his face. "Tell me Severus." She forced him to look into her eyes. He sighed in annoyance hating everything about this. He didn't want to admit his insecurities to her. He felt weak and he despised people who were weak. "Please for me?"

"I don't want you to see my chest." He finally admitted the words and his eyes quickly lowered in embarrassment.

"I don't care what your chest looks like, Severus. You know I'm better than that. Now let me unbutton your shirt." Her eyes begged him to let her do this. "It won't make me think any less of you. Whatever it is Severs just let me do this." He lowered his arms from his shirt and nodded at her giving her the go ahead to continue. He closed his eyes tightly not wanting to see her reaction. She finally got to the final button and she peeled off his black shirt. It joined his robe on the floor and she looked up at his chest. She held in the gasp of shock that was about to pass her lips. He had many scars across his chest and if he turned around she can bet there was some more on his back. "Oh Severus why would you think I would be disgusted by it? Those scars don't define you and they sure don't affect how I feel about you. If anything I love you even more for going through so much for the war." He looked up at her and she saw so much emotion in his eyes that she never thought that she would get to see.

"You still want to have sex with me even after seeing this?" He had to ask. He needed to know that she wasn't just making up a lie to make him feel better.

"Yes Severus I do. Very much so." A genuine smile crossed his face and he let her continue to undress him. A big load of weight fell off Severus's shoulders and he finally felt that he can enjoy what was to come. She lowered her hands to his pants and she unbuckled his belt. She let the belt fall and join the rest of his clothes on the floor.

When the belt finally reached the floor, Severus's eyes flashed with arousal. His hands started working on her pants. He pulled them down and she stepped out of them, kicking them to the corner of the room. She was down to her pink lacy panties and bra. "Let's move this to the bed shall we?" He gently picked her up into his arms and lowered her onto the soft bedspread. He wanted to go slow for her and be as gentle as possible. He pulled down his pants and took off his dragonhide boots. Now he too was down to just his undergarments. He crawled into the bed with her and hovered himself above her small beautiful body. He leaned down and pressed his pale lips onto her soft pink ones.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her body. His tongue slowly worked into her mouth and they started to fight for dominance. He loved the taste of her lips and her tongue. He devoured her mouth and she too was kissing him back just as passionately. His lips traveled down to her soft long neck and started nipping along her jugular. She let out a soft moan and craned her neck, begging for him to keep going. He latched his mouth onto her neck and began to suckle on the skin there. He heard the satisfying sound of another moan falling from her beautiful lips. He felt his arousal starting to grow and poke into her soft abdomen. He pulled his lips away from her throat and unsnapped her bra. He threw it behind him and began to suckle on her rosy pink nipple. He couldn't get enough of the taste of her skin. It was absolutely divine and his taste buds craved it. He couldn't wait to reach the point between her legs. His hand reached up and began to caress her other breast. He heard her breathing get faster and he felt her legs starting to spread open underneath him. He began to squeeze her breast and she couldn't help but push herself more into his soft warm hand. "That's my girl." The words came out as a growl. She became even more aroused then what she already was. His traveled down south again and began nipping along her stomach and reached between her hips.

He looked up at her and his eyes met her chocolate brown ones. She nodded once at him, not sure what she was agreeing to. His hands spread her legs and he slowly lowered her pink panties from her hips that had a wet spot right where her lips met the fabric. He inserted a long finger into her wet core and he couldn't believe how soft, wet, and tight it felt down there. Her walls gripped his finger nearly pulling it more into her core. He started to slowly move it into her entrance and he watched as her eyes rolled back from the pleasure she was receiving. When he felt like she was ready he inserted another finger.

"Severus," she moaned out as she threw her head back in bliss. She couldn't believe how amazing it felt. Using her own fingers never brought this much pleasure for her.

He smiled when he heard her say his name. He wanted her to say his name again. No! He needed her to say his name again. His fingers started to move faster in her sopping wet folds. He felt her walls start to tighten a little more around his fingers. He wanted her to come. He inserted a third finger and was rewarded with her coming hard and fast around his fingers. Wetness gushed out of her and coated his hand.

"Severus!" she shouted out and she sagged against the bedspread exhausted from her orgasm.

He removed his fingers from her wetness and slowly licked them clean with relish. He lowered his black boxers to the floor and his hard on sprung free. Hermione looked up at him and her eyes lowered to his member. She reached her hand out and gripped him in her warm hand. She started to move her hand up and down along his length and she watched Severus lean his head back in pleasure. She started to move her fist faster and she heard him let out a low moan. Pre-cum started to leak out of the tip and it covered her hand. She was enjoying herself and she nearly got him to come until he pulled her hand away. "Did I do something wrong?" She asked as she looked up at him.

"No of course not Hermione, but I didn't want to come too soon. You almost made me spill onto your hand." His hand pressed against her belly and muttered the incantation of the contraception spell. He gripped his member and started to mount her. He aimed for her soft wetness and he pushed into her. He met her hidden barrier and he closed his eyes knowing this was going to slightly hurt. He pushed himself through the barrier and bottomed out in her soft warm hole. He felt her move slightly in pain and he quickly lowered his face down to hers. He kissed her on the lips and stroked her face with his thumb. "Relax Hermione. Just take a deep breath." After a few minutes he finally felt her relax underneath him. He pulled slightly out of her and pushed back into her. He was rewarded by a soft moan being pulled from her lips. He began to thrust in and out of her. As he thrusted into her she wrapped her legs around his waist making him hit a deeper spot deep inside her core. Her walls felt amazing around him. Her hands gripped his shoulders and her nails started to dig into his skin. He lowered his thumb against her clit and began to draw small circles around it. Her walls gripped him even tighter and he felt her come around his length. She came so hard she nearly pushed him out of her. He gripped her hip and pushed himself back into her soft spot and came inside of her. Together they called out each other's name and fell against the bed exhausted from their love making.


	34. Chapter 34

**I apologize for the long wait. The holidays are over and everyone is returning in this chapter. Please leave a review and let me know what you think.**

Hermione was sitting next to Harry and Ron in the Great Hall. It was the morning of their return from the holidays and she was nervous. Their return meant that tonight she would be facing the Dark Lord and receiving the dark mark. Ever since they made love, Severus and Hermione's relationship changed drastically. Severus became closer to Hermione and started to open up a little more. He was starting to show the soft side of him. They continued to make love for the false memories and also for themselves. He was making her feel more confident in what she had to do and she wasn't so nervous anymore about making their relationship believable when in fact they were in a real relationship. Her friends were still clueless about the plan that was in place, which included Remus Lupin. She wanted to keep it that way and now that they were back in school she felt it would be even easier to keep her secret from them.

Did either one of you find time at the Burrow at all to actually finish your Potion's paper for today?" Hermione asked out of the blue remembering the paper that was due today in class. She hadn't seen either one of them crack open a book over the holidays and that made her worried.

Harry looked down at his plate and said guiltily, "I did, but it's pretty bad. I wasn't really trying."

Ron's mouth fell open in response and a piece of scrambled egg came tumbling out of his mouth and back on his plate. "We have a paper due today?" He shouted out in disbelief. He forgot all about it over the holidays. He was too busy eating sweets and talking to his family. He wasn't thinking about school.

She made a face of disgust at the spittle that landed on his plate from the eggs that were in his mouth. "Yes Ronald. How can you forget that we have a paper due?"

Ron grumbled in anger, "Of course the greasy git will make us turn in a paper the day we got back."

She felt her temper mount and she glared at him in response. "Stop acting like such a child Ronald. It's not his fault that you can't remember when a paper is due."

"Do you think he will let me turn it in late?"

She scoffed in response knowing the answer was no. Even he knew the answer was no, but she rolled her eyes and responded anyway. "I doubt it, especially not with full points. He's nasty at grading when it comes to late assignments."

"I never get full points on a paper anyway, Hermione. I always get Trolls or a P. How about you Hermione can you write it for me?" He looked at her with a pleading look.

She shook her head. "No way! He will notice my handwriting and besides I have my own work to worry about."

Ron put his head in his hands and groaned out, "I'm doomed then."

Harry put his hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry mate. Maybe if you turn it in tomorrow he won't be as harsh on you."

"And you finished your paper?"

"Most of it yes. I still think it came out rubbish, but the subject is rubbish."

Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "Potions is not rubbish. Potions is an art."

"Really Hermione? How can you find it an art form? All you do is mix ingredients together and out pops a potion. It's dumb."

She glared at him. She hated when Harry and Ron talked bad about Potions. They always thought the class was useless and their professor was a terrible teacher, but she knew otherwise. "Oh yeah? If it is so simple then why don't you have an Outstanding in the class?"

"Because he doesn't give any of the Gryffindor's an Outstanding on anything they turn in. He's bias Hermione. You know this."

She looked down at her half eaten breakfast and mumbled, "Well I have an Outstanding."

He looked at her in disbelief. "You really have an Oustanding?"

She smiled and said "Every year."

"How? He hates all the Gryffindor's."

"Because I actually try and don't slack off in his class. He likes to set high expectations Harry to prepare us for the real world." She knew he was right. She was well aware of Severus's biases when it came to teaching different houses, but she understood his reasoning. He was a spy and he couldn't show favoritism.

"Expectations? Are you blind Hermione? They are impossible to reach. I mean poor Neville is scared of him."

She frowned feeling bad for Neville. She didn't like how Severus treated him, but she still had an overwhelming sense to defend him. He was the love of her life and her partner. "Well to be fair Neville shouldn't be near a potion."

"He tries though. You know he can't function in that class because of his fear of him. You know that's his boggart."

She looked down at her plate again and finally admitted out loud, "I don't like how he treats the students either Harry." She hoped that would be the end of it, but Harry had other ideas.

"Then admit that he is a slimy git that wants us to fail." He wouldn't drop it. He didn't know why she was always defending him and he was tired of it.

"I can't Harry. He doesn't…"

Harry cut her off and shouted at her in anger, "How can you stand up for him all these years even after he made fun of your teeth? Can't you see it the way Ron and I see it? He's a terrible person and I wouldn't be surprised if he is still a Death Eater just like his past."

She couldn't believe how ridiculous Harry was being. She stood up from the table and shouted right back at him, "Harry, he works for the fucking order and Dumbledore trust him. I trust him." The last words slipped out by accident, but she didn't care. How dare he say this when he had no idea?

Harry stood up from the table as well. "That doesn't mean anything Hermione. You don't know what he's hiding. I saw him talking to Malfoy in the hallway just before the Holiday's."

She clenched her fist in anger. "You don't even know what they were talking about."

"What I do know Hermione is that Malfoy is a Death Eater and so is he. They are working together. How can you not see it?"

She knew there was going to be no end to this argument. Instead she decided to walk away. It wasn't worth continuing this fight with him. "I'm going back to the common room and heading to class."

Harry's face turned red in anger. "Why can't you just admit that our Professor is a git?" He shouted so loud that everyone in the Great Hall turned towards them.

She quietly whispered to him, "Not everything is black and white Harry." She left the Great Hall leaving Harry and Ron behind. She walked slowly through the hallways upset by what transpired in the Great Hall. She wished Harry saw what she saw, but she knew that wasn't possible. Severus was playing his part well and she had to play her part as well. She couldn't tell Harry or any of her friends anything. She just hoped she wouldn't lose her friends by the time the war was over. They couldn't keep arguing like this. She reached the Potion's classroom and sat at the table in the back of the room. She took out her potion kit and her textbook and waited patiently for the other students to arrive.

Harry and Ron arrived into the classroom after a few minutes has passed. They slowly walked over to Hermione's table and sat next to her.

Harry said sheepishly, "I'm sorry Hermione about what happen at breakfast today." He honestly didn't feel bad about what he said, but he did feel bad for getting in her face and causing a scene in the middle of the Great Hall. He still felt that Professor Snape was a greasy git who was a Death Eater. Nothing can make him change his mind.

She smiled slightly at him. She was glad that he was trying to make amends with her and not ignoring her. "It's okay Harry."

Professor Snape made his notorious entrance with the door slamming shut behind him. He reached the front of the room and turned towards the class with an angry scowl on his face. "I hope all of you finished your essays over the holidays. I will be coming around to collect them." When he got to Hermione's table he saw that Ron didn't have his. "Mr. Weasley it looks like you do not have a paper. Did Ms. Granger forget to write you one over the holidays or were you too busy with other activities?"

Ron felt his face heat up in anger at his words. His face nearly matched his hair in anger. "I always write my own papers, sir."

"No wonder why they are so dreadful to read. Maybe you should have asked Ms. Granger to write them at least then I can actually understand what you are trying to spit out on the paper." He went on to the next table.

Ron was left fuming in his seat. He whispered to Hermione, "Do you see what I mean?"

She ignored him and turned her attention back to her Professor at the front of the room.

"Today we are going to be making a powerful healing potion called sanitatum. Open your books to page 444."

Hermione saw Harry take out the used copy of the Half Blood Prince. She whispered to him, "That's cheating Harry. If you are caught he will have your head. You know he will catch you one day Harry."

Harry ignored her and discreetly took out his wand from his robe pocket. He quietly whispered a spell on the book to hide the secrets inside from others.

Hermione rolled her eyes when she saw all the black scribbles on the margins and across the page miraculously disappear. She looked down at her own textbook and began to get her ingredients ready.

A few minutes passed and Harry whispered to her, "Do you know what the book says?"

"No Harry and I really don't care."

"This potion can be used to cure after effects of the cruciatus curse."

"I really wish you didn't read that book Harry. It's dangerous and full of dark magic. You need to turn it in."

"But Hermione the potions are so much quicker to make and I'm actually passing his class for once. Can't you just be happy for me?"

Hermione ignored him and focused on her potion. Half way through the class period she looked back over at Harry to see how far he got with making his potion. Miraculously she saw him just finishing his potion. She whispered to herself, "Unfair."

Professor Snape walked over to their table and looked down into Harry's potion. "It looks like Mr. Potter has finished an extremely hard potion in half the time. Tell me Mr. Potter how were you able to complete a potion in half the time, while everyone else is still working?"

He swallowed in nervousness not expecting him to check up on their table. He didn't have a response for why it was done so quickly. "I don't know, sir."

"There must be a reason that you were able to finish it before anyone else. I will give you another chance Mr. Potter to answer my question. How were you able to complete your potion?"

"I prepared my ingredients differently and I stirred it counter clockwise at times." He badly started to lie in front of him knowing he wasn't going to believe a word he said.

"How were you able to do that Mr. Potter if your book clearly states the instructions? You aren't smart enough to experiment different techniques, so you must not be telling me something. You have five seconds to tell me the truth." His temper was starting to mount at Potter's insolence.

Harry saw the vain near his cheek start to twitch in anger. Maybe he should have listened to Hermione after all. He quickly said, "I just had a feeling that it would work if I made it differently."

Professor Snape nearly snorted at Potter's response. "May I see the book that you have been using Mr. Potter?"

"Why do you need my book, sir?" He showed him the cover knowing that wasn't what he was asking.

"I believe that you are lying to me. Now I am not asking you to give me your book I am telling you before I get the Headmaster involved." His last words quickly made Harry react and he handed over his book begrudgingly.

Professor Snape looked at the page that they were on and casted the spell, "Specialis revelio." The black spiky handwriting started to appear on the pages. He looked up at Harry and scowled at him. "You just lost yourself 50 points for lying to a Professor Mr. Potter and for using an illegal book to help you pass you will have a week's detention with Mr. Filch this week." He walked away from their table taking Harry's book along with him.

When class was over Professor Snape said, "Ms. Granger stay behind. The rest of you may go."

Hermione whispered to her friends, "I'll see you later in the common room." After the class was empty Hermione ran up the aisle and hugged Severus tightly to her.

He wasn't expecting this, but he accepted her hug nonetheless. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly to his chest.

"Does it have to be tonight Severus?" Now that it was just the two of them she felt her real nerves star to come out. She was scared of what was to come, but who wouldn't be?

"Yes Hermione it has to be tonight. I believe in you Hermione. You are so strong and so brave. I know you will be an amazing spy."

She smiled at his praise and started to feel a little better by what was to come later in the evening.

"Right after dinner I need you to come to my rooms so we can be ready to leave. There are some things that we are going to go over before we go." She nodded at him. "What was the fight between you and your friends about this morning?"

"Harry wants me to admit that you are a git and how you are really a Death Eater. He has this belief that you and Malfoy are working together because he saw you two talking in the hallway."

He saw the look on her face and he knew she wanted him to tell her what was going on, but he couldn't. He made a vow he wouldn't. "Hermione I will tell you all about that at a better time."

"But it's so goddamn difficult, Severus. They look at me as some betrayer because I won't talk bad about you. Harry thinks I'm crazy because I always stick up for you."

"Then don't."

"I can't do that Severus. You're not a git. You're a great man that has way too much on his plate. I wish everyone knew what you really are. This is why I will never stop defending you even if it causes a rift between Harry and me. Speaking of friends Ron wants to turn in his paper tomorrow because he forgot all about it. Can you cut him some slack please?"

He rolled his eyes in response. "The idiot. He can't even write a suitable paper."

"He's trying. You should give him more credit."

"He should show more effort in his work then. Have you seen his last paper? Pure garbage. I am sorry that I have high expectations, but I don't just give grades to people. Mr. Weasley barely even meets the length of most of his papers."

She sighed knowing he was right. "Sadly I agree with you. I have read a lot of his papers and I have made him rewrite it. He doesn't care about school. All he wants to do is be a Quidditch player. At least Harry tries. He wants to be an Auror."

"You should get going. I have a class to teach in about five minutes and you got to go before you are late. Don't forget about after dinner. Come immediately to my rooms. Is that understood?"

"Yes I will be sure to remember that. I will see you later Severus." She pecked him on the cheek and walked out of his classroom with her belongings.


	35. Chapter 35

**Hello everyone! Hermione finally gets summoned to see Lord Voldemort. I hope you all are enjoying this story. I haven't been getting a lot of you to leave a review and that makes me sad. Thank you to the ones who are leaving a review. I really do appreciate it. Now on to the story.**

Hermione sat in Severus's office nervous, but ready for them to be summoned to see the Dark Lord. Severus repeatedly was going over the plan with Hermione, but all Hermione can think about is her mind being ready to be penetrated. She couldn't slip up and let him see a sliver of her hidden memories. She had to show him her fake memories and memories that didn't affect the war. She also hoped that her nerves wouldn't get the better of her. She never had to face off with the Dark Lord before and she hoped that she wouldn't end up cowering in his presence. The way Severus and Harry described him made her sick with dread. As she sat there going over the plan in her head Severus jumped up in alarm when his arm started to burn.

"It is time Hermione." His voice was quiet and solemn. His eyes, if possible, turned even darker. She gripped his hand tightly and he leaned down and kissed her. "Anything he tells you just do it Hermione. Also, when you see him you have to always kneel before him. Don't forget that." They disapparated away from the school and landed in front of the gates to Malfoy Manor.

She turned to him and said, "You aren't allowed to use apparition inside the school."

"Because of my job I am allowed just as Dumbledore is. Now get ready because we are about to enter."

They walked up the cobblestone sidewalk and reached the front door of the Manor. It was dark and did not look welcoming to outsiders. Severus took out his wand and slowly removed each protective curse from the door. Once it was all clear he put his wand away and opened the door to the Manor. The two walked inside the Manor and Hermione's eyes instantly started to look around the room. Her eyes drank in the sight of the many death eaters spread out and her eyes eventually landed on the Dark Lord who was sitting in the middle of the room on his golden throne.

Voldemort stood up from his throne and slithered toward them. Both Hermione and Severus were quick to kneel before him. She was careful to keep her eyes planted on the ground. Severus warned her time and time again to always keep her eyes lowered unless ordered to stand. After a few minutes they were given the go ahead to stand up from the cold uncomfortable floor.

Severus was the first to speak. "My lord, I have brought you your newest recruit. I have papers here to prove her true bloodline as a pureblood. I believe she will be quite an aspect for us, my lord."

Voldemort grabbed the records from Severus's white hands and looked through the papers. His piercing red eyes looked up at Hermione and they nearly pierced her soul. He laughed evilly, which cause goose bumps to break out on Hermione's arms. "So, the brain of the three fools wants to join? Betraying your friends I see. Why do you want to join our ranks?"

She bowed slightly before him and began to speak feeling much braver than she thought. "My lord, Professor Snape has showed me where my true allegiances lie and that is to serve you. I want to get revenge on my parents for keeping from me my true bloodline. I have been put down for being a muggleborn, but now I know that I am not a muggleborn. Muggleborns are scum and don't deserve to live on this planet where magic is involved." She couldn't will herself to say mudblood. It was a nasty word and she didn't think she would be able to say it.

"Let us see if you are telling the truth." He took out his wand and pointed it at her. She braced herself for what was to come. He spat out, "Crucio." She fell to the ground and started to spasm all over the floor. She opened her mouth to scream, but she quickly shut it remembering Severus's words. While seizing on the floor she felt him enter her mind. She started to pull forward her false memories and she showed it to him with wicked strength. She kept her walls up and didn't let him go past the memories she showed him. After five minutes of searching her mind he left it and ended the spell on her. She stayed lying on the floor unsure if she was allowed to stand up just yet. He let out a laugh for all of the Death Eaters to hear. "Listen up my followers. Severus was able to seduce Potter's best friend into joining our ranks." With a slow nod from Severus she slowly stood back up again and stood next to Severus. "Let the initiation begin for our newest recruit."

Hermione swallowed nervously and she watched as two double doors swung open. Her eyes watched as her nanny from when she was a child was levitated in by a Death Eater. Her eyes also saw her favorite teacher from primary school was brought in as well. The Death Eater laid out the two women in front of her and stepped away from the scene. She stared at their two kind faces with dread. She always loved her Nanny as a child. Her parents were busy and worked long hours. They always had her Nanny watch her and she formed a great bond with her. When her parents weren't around she sneaked her candy and gave her lots of attention. She also had a soft spot for her primary school teacher. She was a great student and found herself to be a teacher's pet at one point. The teacher motivated her and it was saddened her that the two of them had to be brought into this mess. She started to feel sick to her stomach and her eyes travelled back to Lord Voldemort scared of what his command would be.

"Hermione my dear I brought you two muggles that I know you know personally. I want you to show all of us the power you have with using your wand. Torture them and then kill them." He returned to his throne eager to see the show.

Hermione pulled out her wand and gripped it tight. She pointed it to her Nanny. She didn't want to do this, but she knew she couldn't hesitate.

"Hermione please," her Nanny said pleadingly.

She casted, "Sectumsempra." She watched as large wounds started appearing all over the poor fragile woman. Her Nanny howled in pain. "Furnunculus," she shouted out pointing her wand again at her Nanny. Nasty boils started to appear all over her and started to ooze with blood and puss. She knew Voldemort was waiting for the harder spells. She swallowed and casted "Crucio." Her Nanny started to twist and turn all over the floor. She was screaming in anguish and tears were streaming down her face. She couldn't keep torturing her. Finally she casted "Avada Kedavra" and she watched as her Nanny's painful eyes become lifeless. She turned towards her favorite teacher and again was forced to repeat the same spells and watch her die in front of her.

When she was done Voldemort laughed in glee. He stood up from his throne and began to clap. "Well done Hermione. I am very pleased with what you have shown me. Your final challenge my dear before you receive the dark mark is to use the cruciatus curse on Severus. I want to see that you are able to follow my commands even when it comes to the man that you love. I will tell you when to lift the curse, but not until then."

She remembered what Severus said before she came here. This was a test of sorts and she couldn't fail. She gripped her wand and turned towards the man that she loved. He has been silent this whole time and hadn't said a word. She looked at him and with a deep breath she pointed her wand at him. She said with as much strength as she can muster, "Crucio." She half expected it not to work against him, but she watched as Severus fell to the floor and started writhing all over the floor. She kept her wand pointed at him as the spell continued. It went on for 5 minutes and finally Voldemort told her to stop.

"I am very impressed with you Hermione. Kneel before me so I may give you the mark." She rolled up her sleeve and kneeled down before him. He got up from his throne and approached her kneeling form. He grabbed her arm and gripped it tightly. He pointed his wand at her arm and it bit into her skin. He casted the curse on her arm and her flesh started to burn. She bit her lip and tried to keep the cries at bay. The deep searing pain clawed up her flesh and started to form the ugly mark on her arm. She watched as the ugly black snake burned into her flesh and that is when the screams started. When it finally ended Voldemort threw her arm back at her and said, "Welcome to our ranks Hermione. Let the evening festivities begin." Music started playing and food appeared in the middle of the table.

Hermione rolled down her sleeve and cradled her arm slightly to her chest. She got up from the floor and watched as Severus finally emerged from the floor as well.

"Severus lets go have a chat away from the festivities," Voldemort announced.

She watched him go and she felt a little lost at what to do. She looked around the room and she found Malfoy's pale form in the corner of the room. He was staring at her in disbelief. He slowly approached her with a drink in his hand.

"Do your little friends know that you betrayed their trust?" He asked sardonically.

She knew she had to pretend to be pleasant with him and the other recruits. She plastered on a fake smile and said, "Hello Malfoy. Didn't know that I would be seeing you here."

He said snidely, "Well it is my house after all."

A cane wacked Malfoy on the shoulder. "Behave Draco. Is that anyway to speak to our newest recruit?"

Hermione looked behind Malfoy and saw Lucius with a charming grin on his face. She knew she had to play her part well even more with the higher recruits. She smiled at Lucius and said, "Hello Mr. Malfoy. You have a very nice home."

He smiled back at her. "Call me Lucius. I am glad to see that you have joined our ranks. You will see that this side truly is the right side to take. Mudbloods don't deserve to have a wand or even have any magic at all."

She nearly cringed at his words, but she held herself back. "I have found that muggleborns at our school don't surpass the wizards and witches that are purebloods. It's sad really that the oaf that runs our school allows them inside the school." She ended her words with a pleasant smile towards him knowing that he would agree with his words. She knew his dislike for Dumbledore and also his dislike for muggleborns being allowed in the school.

"That is exactly what I have been saying since day one. I'm glad to see someone shares my opinion." Two women approached them as well. Lucius wrapped his arm around one of them that had long brown hair on top and the rest was all blonde. "Hermione I would like you to meet my wife Narcissa and her sister Bellatrix."

Hermione gave each of them a fake smile. She felt anger swell up inside from seeing Bellatrix, but she kept it bottled up. "Hello it is nice to meet you two."

"Hello sweetie. Welcome to our beautiful house. It looks like Severus caught himself a keeper," Narcissa said.

Bellatrix laughed loudly at her sister's words. "Oh sissy don't be so delusional. Severus is only using her for his sick pleasure."

"It seems like you are jealous of our relationship," Hermione commented.

She watched as a dark scowl crossed Bellatrix's face. "How dare you speak to me that way?"

Hermione saw Severus approaching them from the area he disappeared to. She saw that he was slightly limping and didn't seem like he was in good shape.

"I am sorry, but we must be heading off now," Severus said slightly winded.

Lucius picked up Hermione's hand and kissed the back of it. She smiled at his kind gesture. She grabbed Severus's hand and they both apparated back inside his classroom. She let go of his hand and ran over to the wash station. She scrubbed her hand hard.

As she was scrubbing her hands she said quietly, "I am sorry that I had to cast on you."

"It's no problem at all Hermione. I told you that he could make you do that. I know him. He may be unpredictable to most, but when you are around him all these years things have a way of repeating itself."

She looked over at him and saw him sagging against his desk and a look of pain crossed his face. "Are you okay? You didn't look very well coming out of that meeting with him."

He shook his head. "He's not happy. He thinks things are going too slow and wants to speed things up. Do you want to talk about what just happen during your initiation?"

His words made her start crying. With as much strength as he can muster he quickly reached her and pulled her into his soft warm embrace. "Why did it have to be them Severus? I loved my Nanny. She babysat for me almost every day. I loved my teacher as well. It's just not fair. They had no right being in the middle of all this shit. I can't get their screams out of my head fast enough and their faces. They trusted me Severus not to hurt them. They pleaded with me over and over again to stop it, but I wouldn't. I end up killing them right there on the spot. They had no idea of our world and to see the person that you have watched grown up into some monster…"

Severus cut her off and said, "You are not a monster. You are a girl who is trying to do the best thing she can with saving the wizarding world."

She pulled away and shouted at him, "With their sacrifice?"

He pulled her back into his arms and said, "Unfortunately there will be a lot more causalities in this war. He has brought muggleborn students there just to be killed because one of the ranks found them and brought them in."

"Now Malfoy knows. What if he tells Harry?"

"He won't. He's too smart for that."

"I knew he was a Death Eater," she mumbled.

"And you will not tell anyone that you know that."

"Why? He's a weasel and wants people like me killed."

"No he doesn't. He's just a boy Hermione that has grown up around people like his father that have spat out hate all of their lives. He doesn't need to be condemned to death."

She pulled away and crossed her arms in defense. "He had a choice."

"Not really no. His whole family are Death Eaters Hermione. Even me as his Godfather is a Death Eater in his eyes."

"That doesn't give him a pass for his attitude all of these years."

"Unfortunately his father is the same way."

"Bellatrix believes that you are just using me," she informed him.

He shrugged."She's always been jealous."

She said, "She likes you."

He gagged slightly in response. "I am well aware of that fact."

She laughed at his reaction. "You wouldn't date her?"

He shook his head. "Never in a million years."

"Should I start heading back to my room now?"

He pulled her into his arms and said, "I want you to stay the night."

She smiled at him and kissed his lips. "Lead the way."


	36. Chapter 36

**I decided to post the next chapter early. I couldn't wait anymore. I hope you all are enjoying this story so far. Please leave a review.**

Hermione slowly woke up from a deep sleep. She looked around the room and suddenly realized where she fell asleep last night. She quickly sat up and got out of bed. Her bare feet hit the cold floor. She noticed that Severus was not in the room, which meant that he was already awake. _Why didn't he wake me? Now I got to sneak down to Gryffindor Tower._ She opened the door to the bedroom and walked into the living room. She saw him sitting in his armchair sipping his tea. "Why didn't you wake me?" She was a little annoyed at sleeping in so late. She was used to waking up early, but now she had to rush.

"I wanted to give you more time to sleep. You went through a lot last night. You needed your rest."

She softened slightly at his sentiment, but she now had to be careful in the hallways. "But now I got to sneak down to Gryffindor Tower."

He joked, "Should have been in Slytherin."

She slapped his arm and said, "Severus I was being serious."

"That is something to think of though if you did get sorted into Slytherin."

She sat down on the couch next to his armchair. "We already talked about this before. That would be impossible because I am still in fact a muggleborn and Slytherin's hate muggleborns. I don't know why you keep bringing this up. Even in the past you kept saying it."

"It's just a thought. That's not true about all of them hating muggleborns."

"It would feel like it anyway because most Slytherin's are rich and their families are very well known in the wizarding world, plus my parents are dentists. I would be shunned from that house very quickly, plus I wouldn't have any friends because of house rivalries. I don't think I would fit the characteristics of a Slytherin anyway. They do anything to win. Tell me has there ever been any muggleborns sorted into Slytherin?"

He thought long and hard and said, "Only two that I can ever remember in my time. There was one the year before you started your first year that graduated from Hogwarts, but he wasn't a saint. He fit in nicely with the Slytherin's because he bullied other students and helped the Slytherin's win a lot of house cups because he was also very smart."

"What ever happen to him?"

"He is currently working as an Auror. With growing up he actually became more mature and is doing well for himself. The other one that I have known was a girl similar to you in fact. That was many years before you joined Hogwarts. Unfortunately that girl was a foster child. I still don't understand why she was in Slytherin. She didn't possess many qualities that a Slytherin has. Well, she was sorted and of course the whole school was surprised because there hasn't been a muggleborn sorted into Slytherin for over twenty years. Even Dumbledore didn't understand why she was sorted there but he never questioned it. To him the hat was always right. Her first year was very difficult for her. She came crying to me at least once a week about how she didn't have any friends and she didn't fit in. I genuinely felt sorry for her but I couldn't do much about it. Even back then Slytherin's were against anyone that didn't share the same blood as them. Well, her first year went by and she of course came back the next year. She tried so hard that girl. She did fine in her courses and she tried talking to other students outside her house, but because of her house no one wanted to befriend her."

"What happen to her?"

He took a deep breath and sighed at the memory. "Third year is what happen to her. She still didn't have any friends and she finally thought that maybe if she followed a group of girls then maybe she can make some friends. Those group of girls bullied a lot of the Gryffindor's so she followed along. The girls pretended to like her and they allowed her to join their group, but Halloween night is when it all ended. The group told her to come meet them at the top of the Astronomy tower. Well, she went and there was no one there, but a note. The note told her how much they truly resented her and how she could never be a true Slytherin. That was the night she decided to end her life. She jumped off the Astronomy tower."

She gasped and said, "Wow that is truly awful. I wish something could have been done for her."

He looked down sadly. "I didn't know it was happening and she didn't have any friends to tell her to stop. I didn't think she would kill herself. Ever since then except that other boy there hasn't been any muggleborns in Slytherin and with this war I am glad that there isn't any."

Hermione casted a time spell and saw that it was 7:30 AM. They had 30 minutes before breakfast started. She stood up and said, "It's almost time for breakfast. We have to get a move on."

"Why can't you just eat breakfast in my rooms? I can call my elf and get us some food. There is no need to rush."

She smiled at him. She wanted to stay, but she knew she couldn't. Her friends would be asking where she went. "I would but you know that won't look good if I sneak out of your rooms later for class, plus I got to quickly shower and get dressed."

He stood up and kissed her. "I'll see you later then in class. Don't be late."

"Never you know me. Always punctual."

He rolled his eyes and said jokingly, "And always a know-it-all."

She left his rooms and snuck down the hallways of the dungeon. She heard someone following her. She grasped her wand and spun around and pointed it at them. It was Draco Malfoy. She kept her wand pointed at him for good measures. "What do you want Malfoy?"

"I'm not here to fight. I just wanted to offer you my help."

She slowly lowered her wand and said, "Why? Is it because you now view me as an equal because I'm a pureblood?"

"My father seems to like you. He wants me to try to make amends."

"Nice try Malfoy, but I'm not befriending you nor do I trust you."

"What do you see in my Godfather?"

She crossed her arms. "That is none of your business."

He glared at her. "It is because if you hurt him I will…"

She cut him off and said, "I would never hurt him Malfoy. I love him."

He slowly eased off on her and nodded his head. He walked around her and continued on his way.

Hermione hurried the rest of the way to Gryffindor Tower. She reached the fat lady painting and she walked inside. She climbed up the steps and walked into her bathroom. She took a shower and then she pulled on her uniform. She did a quick drying charm on her hair and brushed it into neat curls. She hurried down the stairs and out of the portrait hole. She quickened her pace to get to the Great Hall in time knowing she will be already late. She reached the Great Hall and she found an empty seat next to Ginny.

Ginny said, "Where were you this morning? I checked your rooms and didn't see you in there and I know you weren't in the library."

"I took a walk outside of the castle near the lake." The lie easily passed her lips.

Ginny looked at her and saw love bites all over her neck. "With your boyfriend?"

She said, "What? Why would you say that?" Harry and Ron looked up from their breakfast and stared at her.

"Well you have love bites all over your neck. Didn't you notice?"

Hermione blushed red and covered her neck with her hand. She didn't notice at all. _Crap what do I say? It's obvious what they are. Well they don't have to know his name._ "Alright I'll admit it. I was with a guy and no you may not know his name."

"Is he good to you?" Ginny asked. "If he's not I will hurt him for you."

She laughed and said, "Yes he's very good to me. I love him Ginny."

"How long have you've been dating?"

"Four months now." She decided to consider the two months that she was in the past.

Harry said, "And you thought you couldn't trust us with this information?"

She looked down guilty. She felt bad that she hid this information from them, but she felt like she had no choice. They couldn't know the truth. "I'm sorry Harry, but you guys would've kept bugging me to meet him and I would rather not tell you who it is."

Ginny said, "Why not?"

"You guys would've scared him off," she replied.

Ginny said, "Are we going to meet him?"

"Maybe one day when we feel we are ready."

Ron said, "Why can't you tell us anything about him?"

She said, "Because he deserves his privacy and when he wants to meet you he will."

"Oh come on at least tell us something. Like what house is he in? He better not be a Slytherin," Harry said.

She smiled weakly at him in response. "That would be funny wouldn't it?"

The conversation changed when Harry said, "I still don't trust Malfoy. I think he is up to something."

Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "Like what Harry?"

"He's a Death Eater Hermione. He's got to be up to something."

"You don't even know that for sure."

"Hermione, if you saw those two talking the other night you wouldn't be saying that. I am telling you Malfoy and Snape are both Death Eaters. They are planning something. I know they are."

"If they are Harry Dumbledore would know. I mean Snape is his right hand man and he's in the Order."

Harry said, "Hermione."

"No I don't want to talk about this anymore with you. You are going to get yourself into trouble. I don't want to go along with your schemes any longer."

Harry stood up and said, "What happen to you Hermione? You used to trust me."

"I do Harry, but I am tired of getting in trouble and being a part of the Golden Trio."

He said hurtfully, "Then I guess we aren't friends anymore. Let's go Ron."

Hermione looked down at her plate and felt tears enter her eyes. She stood up from the table and left the Great Hall. She reached the portrait hole and ran up to her room. She reached her soft warm bed and wrapped the covers around her and began to cry. She was hurt by Harry's words, but she didn't feel bad by what she said. She was in fact tired of following Harry's stupid schemes. He kept looking for danger and she didn't want to be a part of it anymore. She still wanted to be his friend and he would always be like a brother to her, but sometimes he was too deep in his fantasies.

She ended up walking into Potions late. It was the first time she was ever late for class. She ended up crying about Harry and lost track of time. When she walked inside she saw that he was already teaching. She cringed when she heard the door shut loudly behind her. Everyone looked at her late entrance.

Professor Snape glared at her and said, "Ms. Granger 5 points for your tardiness. Do please find a seat."

She muttered, "Yes Professor." She passed Harry and Ron's table and sat down next to Neville.

Professor Snape continued on teaching. "Today we are going to be doing a potion that requires a partner. It is the most difficult potion in this class and requires your full attention. Turn to page 478." Hermione opened up her book and read the directions. He continued with giving out his directions. "One partner will have to cut the ingredients, while the other stirs the potion. You have until the rest of the class period to complete it. Begin."

Hermione looked at Neville and instantly regretted her decision. She took a deep breath and smiled at him. "So Neville would you rather cut the ingredients or stir the potion?"

"Ingredients," he responded.

She bit her lip nervously. She didn't want him to cut the ingredients, but she decided to give him a chance. _You just got to guide him nicely. He's not as stupid as Severus think he is. Give him a chance._

Neville came back with the ingredients and said, "So what do I add first to the cauldron?"

She looked down at her book and said, "4 Salamander tails."

He counted out the four and gently tossed them into the cauldron. She stirred her potion twice counter clockwise and once clockwise. The potion slowly started to turn a light green color.

"Now add 6 lace wing fly."

Again he followed directions to a tee and added them to the cauldron. "Now cut the ginger root into 3 inch cubes."

His hand shook slightly and started cutting the ginger root. They weren't exactly perfect, but it was Neville. She continued to stir their potion as he added the ginger root. The potion changed to a dark blue. "Now you got to add a tablespoon of dragon blood." He grabbed the dragon blood and a spoon and was slowly measuring it when it slipped through his fingers and the whole vial fell into the cauldron.

She shouted, "Neville no!" The potion started to bubble and heavy smoke filled the air. Neville was able to escape the explosion, but Hermione was hit head on with the potion. She fell to the ground unconscious.

Professor Snape quickly ran over to her and picked her up into his arms. He told everyone to clean up their potions and to get out. He carried her to Madam Pomfrey. He walked inside and laid her down on an empty cot.

Madam Pomfrey came running over and said, "What has happen here?"

"Ms. Granger was hit with a lethal concoction of ingredients during Potions. I am not sure of the effects that it will have on her," he explained calmly, but inside he was nervous.

Madam Pomfrey said, "Well first let's get her out of these clothes. They are ruined from the potion and can't be fixed." Professor Snape took a deep breath knowing what Madam Pomfrey will see when she took her shirt off. Madam Pomfrey took off her shirt and saw the Dark Mark. Madam Pomfrey took a step back and said, "Severus she's a Death Eater."

Professor Snape looked around and quickly closed and warded the door to the hospital wing. "Dumbledore hired her to be a spy. We have been working together these past few weeks following Dumbledore's orders."

"But Severus she's only a child. Does she know what she's doing?"

"Dumbledore believes that she can find out secrets that I can't because I'm too high up in the ranks. He thinks because of her age she can work with the younger recruits and find things out from them. I can't argue with him Poppy."

"How do you feel about this?"

"Honestly I believe Hermione is strong and will be able to accomplish her task." Severus didn't realize his slip up with calling her Hermione. Severus quickly added, "You will keep this conversation a secret from the other teachers Poppy."

She nodded and said, "Very well. I don't agree with it, but it sounds like Dumbledore has his mind set on it. So what do you suggest I do with her now?"

He looked at Hermione and said, "Honestly I don't know. I expect her to be awake soon enough, but I don't know what the effects of that potion will have. The potion is originally supposed to be a heavy blood replenesher, but it wasn't ever completed. The effects of the dragon blood can have a disastrous effect."

"Well Severus I was never gifted in the area of Potions. Any ideas of the effect it can have on her?"

"Honestly no. I never thought about it. Dragon blood is used in a lot of potions, but to be dropped into a whole potion is a different story. We are just going to have to wait and see."

She took out her wand and casted a spell over Hermione to get her vitals and also see if there was any effects of the potion inside of her. "Well nothing seems out of the ordinary. Ms. Granger's vitals check out fine and her insides don't seem to be affected by it. Let me do a full body scan." Again she casted on Hermione. "That's strange. Everything looks fine, but her brain has been affected only slightly. It's easily missed, but there's something there Severus."

"What do you think that means?"

"I don't know. The brain is very complicated, but it looks like it is affecting the part where her magic is. Let me check her magic levels." Again she casted and saw that her magic levels were off the charts. She said, "I have never seen that before. I think the potion has affected her magic. Her magic level is very high Severus. The most I have ever seen in someone."

"How can someone have more magic than someone else?" He asked confused.

"In normal witches and wizards it's not possible. It's all about capabilities not how much magic you have, but Hermione she has been affected greatly. I don't know what the effects of that can be. It might be just as simple as having powerful magic."

"I read about this before in a book once. I think I still have it somewhere in my rooms. If it's what I think it is she can be in great danger if You-Know-Who figures it out."

"What do you think it is Severus?"

"It's really dark magic. If she can tap into it she can take peoples magic from them and use it for herself. If it is found out by the wrong person they can use her for their own advantage."

She said, "Can it be reversed?"

He said, "With the heavy dose that she was exposed to I don't think so, but I also think that it won't be hard for her to control. It's a spell that she has to cast in order to take their magic, so as long as she keeps it in check she should be fine. Now we just got to wait until she wakes up. Idiot boy shouldn't even be in Potions."

"Oh Severus, leave poor Neville alone. The boy is trying."

"He's a danger to my students Poppy. All he had to do was add a simple spoonful to the damn potion, but no he drops the whole vial."

"He is trying. You know he's a klutz."

He crossed his arms in response. "Steady hands are needed to make potions. We are lucky that Hermione is coming out okay and not with adverse affects."

She looked at him and said, "You keep referring her to Hermione instead of Ms. Granger. Do you actually care for her?"

"I have worked with her for weeks now. I can't keep referring her as Ms. Granger, but you are aware who she was aren't you? Don't you remember back when I was in school?"

She stared at him just now realizing it. She said, "This is the Hermione?"

"Yes the same one."

"Oh Severus I had no idea."

"That's the way Dumbledore wanted it. He didn't want anyone to find out. Now I am going to sit here and wait for her to wake up if you don't mind."

"Of course Severus be my guest."


	37. Chapter 37

Hermione didn't wake up until morning. She looked around the room and saw that she was still in the hospital wing. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. She pulled the curtains back and saw Madam Pomfrey talking to Severus.

Severus looked over at her and said, "Hey you're finally awake."

Madam Pomfrey looked at Hermione and frowned at her. "Ms. Granger I don't think it's wise for you to be standing up. Now you lay back down in that bed right now."

"But I'm fine Madam Pomfrey. I don't feel any pain or any different at all. Do I have to stay here?"

Severus stepped in and said, "You know Poppy she can rest up in her rooms. I will make sure she doesn't do anything to over exert herself."

Madam Pomfrey sighed and said "Very well. As long as she stays in bed and takes care of herself then she may leave."

Hermione and Severus left the hospital wing. "So what happen to me? Were there any complications from the potion?"

"I rather not talk about this in the hallway Ms. Granger. Wait until we get to my classroom." She smiled slightly knowing he had to pretend in public. As they were walking they ran into Harry and Ron.

Ron said, "Hermione are you ok? We were just coming to see you."

She smiled at Ron and said, "I'm fine Ron."

"I'm glad to see that you are ok," Harry said feeling slightly bad for the fight they had previously.

"I'll catch up with you guys later and fill you in on the details." Severus and Hermione continued on their path and walked into his classroom. He shut the door behind them. Once they got inside the room Severus wasted no time. He hugged her tightly to his chest.

"I was so worried about you."

"What did Madam Pomfrey find out?"

He pulled away and said, "Well the potion has affected your magic. You have far more magic than anyone else."

"Really? That sounds odd. Is that a bad thing?"

"It can be used in a bad way if the wrong person had it. Your magic is so powerful that you can take people's magic from them by just using a simple spell. It's extremely dangerous."

"What? I'm some sort of monster now?" She asked worriedly.

"No. To use it you need to cast the spell. This won't affect you at all if you don't actually use it, which I know you won't. You are too much of a good person to do that to someone."

"That is something to think about though. Can you imagine someone being that powerful they can strip someone of their magic?"

"I'm glad that it only happen to you. If someone else had that kind of power it can be terrible. Now that we are alone and you are finally awake I have forgotten to inform you that we have a meeting tonight. We are meeting with the Order."

"I'm allowed to join the Order now?"

"Well because we are working together Dumbledore wants us to inform the rest of the Order and now with the affects of the potion we also have to inform them of that as well."

"Professor McGonagall is not going to be too happy when she finds out what we have been doing."

He grimaced and said, "She likes to protect her lion cubs."

"Do you expect the Order to be happy when they hear a student is working as a spy?"

"No I don't. I expect there to be outrage. They won't be happy at all with any of it, but Dumbledore will convince them that he made the right decision."

She pulled up her sleeve and said quietly, "Will it always look like this on my arm?"

"Unfortunately with him still very much alive it will stay like that until he dies. When he was gone for over ten years and no one heard of his return it started to fade. The lines were very light, but it was still very much there. Unfortunately Hermione it will always be there."

"At least it doesn't hurt anymore."

"Just wait until he calls for us. It's not extremely painful, but it's not a pinch either. He doesn't give you the chance to not show up. If he calls for you Hermione you have to go. It won't stop burning until you do."

"How long is this going to go on for?"

"I honestly have no idea. There isn't a plan here. I mean until you or I find out something we just got to keep on faking it until something gives away. Now I would love to continue talking to you but there is still classes going on today. Based on Madam Pomfrey's worries do please go back to Gryffindor Tower and rest. Come to my rooms' right after dinner and we will go to the meeting."

"Alright I will see you tonight then."

After dinner Hermione returned to his rooms fully rested as promised.

Severus said, "Are you ready to face the Order?"

She said with confidence, "I am. I will always support you Severus and what I had to do for the greater good."

Severus walked her through his classroom and into the corridor that led to his rooms. He entered his living room and went over to his floo network. "We are going to floo there because it is the easiest way to enter."

She said, "Where are they having the meeting?"

"It's still at Grimmauld Place. It's the safest place for now."

She said, "Okay I'm ready."

Severus and Hermione walked into the floo network together. He grabbed the floo powder and said loudly and clearly, "12 Grimmauld Place." He dropped the floor powder into the floo and off they went. They appeared in the middle of the kitchen.

Hermione commented, "Well better than apparating over there." She saw two people in the corner of the room talking to one another. She saw the curly long hair and knew who it was. She grabbed Severus's hand and pulled him out of the room.

She hissed at him, "Why didn't you tell me that Sirius is still alive?"

He said quietly, "I didn't want you to run off and tell Potter. He is meant to be hidden and kept a secret about him still living."

She said hurtfully, "I thought for weeks he was dead. Even Harry still cries about his death. Why would you do this to me?"

"He's a distraction Hermione. You saw that he was used by the Dark Lord to lure Potter. Black was smart enough to fake his death and has been kept hidden until the war is over. You cannot tell anyone about him still being alive Hermione. Promise me that."

She still was hurt that he didn't tell her sooner. "I promise I won't say anything, but I wish you would've told me yourself."

"Thank you. I am sorry I didn't tell you. I wasn't allowed. I promise after the war everything will be right again. Potter can reunite with Black and things will be better again, but for now we have to keep going."

She nodded in understanding. "Alright I understand. They're not going to be happy that I'm dating you."

He snorted in response. "I don't care what they think."

She smiled at him and said, "Neither do I." Severus grabbed her hand and walked into the meeting room. They took their seats at the table next to each other and waited patiently for the rest to arrive.

Molly came into the room first. "Hello Severus. Hermione I didn't think that we would see you here. Would you two like something to drink?"

"A nice cup of tea would be nice," Hermione said.

Severus grumbled out, "Fire whiskey."

Molly turned and left the room. She returned with their drinks.

"So Hermione, how is school going?"

"School is fine Mrs. Weasley. How are you and Mr. Weasley?"

"We are doing great dear thank you for asking." She gave Hermione her cup of tea and Severus a glass along with the bottle of fire whiskey. She sat down across from them and said, "No offense dear, but aren't you too young to be at an Order meeting?"

"I am of age Mrs. Weasley and part of the conversation at the meeting has to do about me."

Severus heard the floo network activate and saw Professor McGonagall exit the floo.

She said in her deep Scottish accent, "Good evening Severus and Molly. Hermione I am surprised to see you here. Was this Dumbledore's doing?"

"Partially yes Professor McGonagall," she responded.

Professor McGonagall found a seat at the end of the table. That is when Remus and Sirius came through the door. Hermione wanted to stand up and hug them but she knew now wasn't the time to make a scene.

She smiled at them and said, "Hi Remus. It's nice to see you again. I'm surprised to see you Sirius, but I am happy nonetheless."

They both greeted her with a kind smile.

Sirius saw the way Severus and Hermione were sitting together. "Are you two still together?"

Hermione cringed when she saw everyone look at them with either anger or disgust.

Severus gripped her knee under the table and said, "Professor Dumbledore wanted us together for the greater good. He can better explain this then I can."

That was when Professor Dumbledore entered the room and took his seat at the front of the table. Everyone else grabbed their seats and sat down ready for the meeting.

Professor Dumbledore said, "Good evening everyone. I am glad to see that you all have made it to this very important meeting. The reason for this meeting is to discuss Hermione Granger."

Molly said, "Is this about letting her join the Order? She's too young Albus. She's still in school. She doesn't need to be worked up about this war."

Dumbledore said, "I understand what you are saying Molly but this is not solely on letting her join. I asked Hermione to do something for the greater good. What was asked of her at the beginning was something very simple. She was sent into the past back when James and Lily were at Hogwarts."

Hermione looked down at the table with sadness when she heard their names. Again Severus squeezed her knee to comfort her.

He leaned over to her and whispered in her ear, "I still miss her too." She gave Severus a watery smile.

Professor McGonagall said, "Did you not think about the consequences this could have had on the time line or even what this could have done to Hermione at all?"

"Minerva, this was a very important mission for Hermione. I didn't send her back to warn them about the inevitable. I sent her back to put in place our timeline. She had to go back in time and befriend Severus and then leave him in a state that would force him to join the wrong side," he responded calmly.

Hermione already knew the reason, but to hear the way Dumbledore talked about it still angered her immensely. She hated that he screwed up their lives just for this bloody stupid war.

Professor McGonagall said, "Albus how could you do that? You put a great burden on Hermione in those past few months she was there."

"It was for the greater good. It was already set in place. If Hermione did not go back in time I don't know what would have happened to the time line. Severus might not even be here with us if she didn't. I defend my decision on sending her back there."

Professor McGonagall looked at Hermione and said, "Oh dear I am so sorry you had to do that. I am glad to see that it worked out in the end, but that is truly awful."

She smiled at her and said, "I have come to terms with it. I didn't know the reason why I was doing it at the beginning, but I knew that if Dumbledore needed this to be done that I would've done it. When I found out in the end the reason I went back I was angry. I hurt the man that I loved and lost friends that I would never see again, but if he would've told me the reason why I was going back at the beginning I don't think I would have went. I thought long and hard about this but Dumbledore was right. I had to go back. The timeline would have been altered greatly. Severus is a good man and I'm glad that I went back." Sirius made a face and Remus made a gagging noise.

Severus snapped at him, "Shut up wolf boy." Hermione put a gentle hand on his arm to calm him.

"Now that we are past this there is something that I have to discuss with you all. After Hermione returned I again asked her to do something. I asked her to be a spy with Severus," Dumbledore said carefully.

Molly gasped in shock. "No way! I refuse for this girl to be put more into this damn war. She's just a girl Albus."

"I asked her to do this because I needed someone younger to find out information for us. She was the perfect fit for the job."

Professor McGonagall turned towards Hermione. "Hermione tell me you didn't do it. Tell me that Dumbledore didn't make you do this." Her eyes pleaded with her to say no.

Hermione felt guilty knowing that the room was about to explode when they saw her arm. She hesitated and then rolled up her sleeve. She said forlornly, "It's too late."

Everyone stood up with anger. Hermione watched as everyone argued with Dumbledore about how young she was and how naïve she was being. Severus sat there quietly and took a long sip from the fire whiskey. He already abandoned the glass and was now drinking straight from the bottle. Hermione put her wand to her throat and said over the crowd, "Silence." Everyone sat back down and looked at her. "Listen, I didn't want to do this but it makes sense. Severus and I work well together and I have already created false memories and did everything I can to convince You-Know-Who that I am a new recruit. I am doing this willingly because I wanted to do something for the greater good. I know I am still young, but I would do anything to bring down You-Know-Who."

"How did he let you join? You still are a muggleborn," Professor McGonagall asked.

"Dumbledore altered my records to make it look like I was in fact a pure blood."

"What did you all decide as the reasoning as to why Hermione would turn her back on Mr. Potter?" Again Professor McGonagall asked.

Hermione blushed deeply. She didn't want to answer her. She looked down at the table and busied herself with sipping her tea.

Dumbledore ended up answering for her. "Well I thought since Hermione was with Severus in the past that those two could work together on this. The reason I gave Hermione to use was that Severus had seduced her into joining him."

Severus saw that everyone was now staring at him. He took another pull from the bottle.

Molly snapped at Dumbledore, "You are encouraging their relationship?"

"Hermione is of age and under these certain circumstances I don't see a problem with it," he said in defense.

Molly glared at Severus and said, "You are almost half her age and she is in fact one of your students. How can you do this?"

Severus had no response. He didn't feel like he had to defend himself to anyone.

Hermione said, "Mrs. Weasley he had nothing to do with any of this. We started dating when he thought I was a new student. He tried to push me away, but we couldn't pretend anymore and with me being a spy with him we had to keep our relationship going."

Professor McGonagall said, "Hermione I'm surprised at you. You should know better than this and so should you Severus."

Molly said angrily, "Are you two intimate together?"

Hermione blushed to the roots of her hair and shouted at Molly, "That is none of your business."

Molly said, "I looked at you as one of my daughters. I thought you would be dating Ronald my son."

She said, "Oh that's why you are angry. You don't like the fact that Ron and I are just friends. Newsflash Molly Ronald is not who I want to be with and besides with the fiasco with Lavender early on this year I would not want to be with him."

Sirius looked at them and said, "Yet you rather date the greasy bat of the dungeons. He's a Death Eater Hermione."

Hermione felt her anger boil over. She stood up from the table. "Don't you dare call him that and Severus is more of a man then you. Yes he made the wrong choice, but it was my fault for what he did. Now he is paying for it. He doesn't deserve to be treated this way. Severus and I are in a happy relationship and I don't care what any one of you have to say about it. I am done with this stupid meeting. I have said my peace. I will continue being by Severus's side and fighting for the greater good. I am not a child that needs to be coddled. Have a goodnight everyone. And Sirius it was nice seeing you alive." She stood up and went over to the floo. She threw the floo powder in and shouted, "Severus Snape's living room at Hogwarts." She disappeared from the meeting room.


	38. Chapter 38

**Thank you to everyone who left a review in the last chapter! This chapter was very difficult to write. Hermione and Severus are again summoned to see the Dark Lord. Please leave a review and let me know what you think!**

The first thing that Hermione did when she returned to his rooms was make herself tea. She set her tea down on the coffee table and walked over to one of his many bookshelves. He had at least a thousand books in just this room alone. Hermione looked through the titles and found a book on ancient magic from the 1600s. She sat on the couch with her book and her tea and waited for Severus to return from the meeting. 30 minutes passed and the floo network finally activated. She looked up from her book and saw Dumbledore and Severus come through the floo. She put her book down and said to Dumbledore, "I apologize Professor for leaving the meeting the way I did."

Severus sat down next to Hermione and said, "Professor Dumbledore has another brilliant idea that he wants you to listen to." Hermione can hear the anger in his voice and knew that he was not happy with what Professor Dumbledore was going to say. She braced herself for what her Professor was going to say.

Dumbledore took a seat across from them in the armchair and cleared his throat. "Severus has brought to my intention that because of the accident that happen in his classroom the other day your magic level is now severely higher. Because of the amount of magic you have you are able to take away people's magic is that correct?"

She sighed knowing he was going to ask her to use it. "What do you want me to do with my supposed new powers?"

"You can be the tool we need to defeat The Dark Lord."

"So you want me to take away his power?"

"Yes. Don't you see this is how we can defeat him? He will no longer have any magic and will be defeated by you as our weapon. No one will see it coming."

"No I understand that completely, but do you not understand how many followers he has? You expect me to take away his power and be able to escape with my life? It's nearly impossible with the amount of followers there are."

"Well Ms. Granger this is when you and Severus come up with a plan."

She turned towards Severus and asked, "How does the Order members feel about this?"

Severus said, "They see the reasoning, but they don't want to risk your life."

"Please think about the greater good. This can save the wizarding world."

She sighed and slowly relented to his wishes. In a way she understood what he was saying. She did have the power to end it all, but she wanted to find a way where it also meant that she survived in the end. It sounded selfish, but she didn't want to rush into it without a plan set in place that kept her safe. "Alright I will figure out a way, but not until we have a plan in place."

He smiled and said, "Thank you Ms. Granger. Have a goodnight." He left through the floo and went back to his office. Hermione leaned back into the couch and stared down at her cup. She didn't want her tea anymore.

She set it down and said aloud, "Accio fire whiskey." A bottle from the kitchen zoomed out and landed in her hands. She took out the cork and took a long swig. She said to Severus, "You want some?" He thought about it and took a pull from the bottle as well.

"I do not agree with Dumbledore. He is making all these ideas and plans in place and not caring about the affect it can have on other people. He is so desperate to take him down he doesn't care who goes down with him."

She said, "I don't really blame him. He wants to protect his students and everyone from that monster and to him if it cost one person at least then it didn't cost the whole school from going down."

"I don't want to risk your life Hermione. He is asking too much of you and you keep agreeing with him. I want you to survive Hermione." His words were full of so much emotion and she saw the love he had for her deep within his eyes.

She cuddled into his arms and said, "I want to live too Severus and I will try my best to survive, but Dumbledore does have a point. I have a power that no one else knows about except the Order. You-Know-Who has no idea how powerful I actually am. We have a step ahead of him and if I can find a way to protect myself and take away his power then I'll do it." She took another sip from the bottle and thought long and hard about what she was going to do. She quickly stood up from the couch excitedly. "I got it. I have a plan."

He grimaced and said, "Why do I feel like I am not going to like this plan?"

She laughed and said, "Hear me out on this. So you know how I will eventually have to cast that spell on You-Know-Who? He will probably never be left alone with me so right when I cast I will probably be attacked by all his followers, but what if I have my whole body shield up and then no one's spells can hit me. They will in fact bounce back and hit them head on and then we can have the Order waiting nearby and bring them in to finish off the rest of the followers."

"What if your shield fails Hermione? What if it doesn't work? I don't like this plan Hermione."

"Well I have to keep practicing with using my shield then. I am not saying do it the very next time we see him but after maybe a month or two of practice and I am sure that I can do it then we can set up our attack strategy. Think about it Severus. None of the students will have to fight. Every student will be safe inside the walls of Hogwarts. Do you really think Harry has any chance of defeating that monster alone?"

He sighed knowing she was right. "Alright I agree that it is a good plan if we can perfect it. Question is will you be brave enough to do it when the time comes?"

She hesitated and said quietly, "I have to be, but the thing is he scares me Severus. Just being in his presence makes me want to cower in front of him. I feel like at any minute he will see that the documents are false or he will see something in my mind by accident and I'll end up dead at his feet, but I have to do this Severus. If we want a future, hell if any of these damn kids in this school wants a future where they don't have to live in fear of their blood line I have to do it."

He pulled her back down on to the couch and pulled her against his chest. "You're so brave Hermione. Most people would run away and cower, but you don't. You face the danger head on."

She said, "I have to be brave. I am a Gryffindor after all." He rolled his eyes in annoyance. She said, "You know for having such a bleak outlook on Gryffindor's you could have been one."

He growled, "Never."

"Oh come on. You are courageous and you are in fact the bravest man I have ever known."

"I am not that brave Hermione. I just do what I have to do in order to survive. I am a Slytherin true and true."

She said, "Well you are very vain." He pinned her to the couch and started to tickle her. She started to laugh and squirm away from his touch. She said between laughs, "Stop I was only kidding." They both ended up on the floor with Severus on top of her. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. Hermione pulled him closer and kissed him back. Severus started to unbutton her shirt when they both felt the burning sensation from their marks. "Wow you weren't kidding about the burning, Severus."

He helped her up and buttoned back up her shirt for her. "Remember, place your walls tightly and be prepared to do anything he asks."

She nodded and said, "I am ready." He held out his arm for her to take. She gripped it tightly and they apparated to Malfoy Manor. She took a deep breath and set her emotions to indifference. They walked into the Manor and saw every follower was present. They bowed before the Dark Lord and waited to be told to stand.

Voldemort hissed at them, "Stand my trusted followers. I have brought you two here because I realized I require two very important favors from you Hermione." The way he hissed out Hermione's name made her skin crawl. Severus stepped away from Hermione feeling like he wasn't going to be needed. Voldemort flicked his eyes towards Severus and growled, "Stay where you are. This involved you as well." He stepped back next to Hermione and waited patiently for him to continue. "One of the favors I require from you is why I asked all of my followers to join me tonight. You two have shown me that you are some sort of couple. You joined because of Severus is that correct?"

Hermione nodded slowly and said, "That's correct my lord."

"Well I want to see the proof of your union. Some of my followers do not believe it. Some of them think it's all a lie to trick us. I want you two to perform in front of all of us. Show me how he controls you."

Hermione mustered up all of her courage deep inside her heart. She was scared, but Severus warned her that he would eventually ask this of them. She bowed low to him and said, "Yes my lord. I will be honored." She turned to Severus and he quickly delved into her mind.

He said into her mind, "Do everything I tell you. This will go by quickly. Everything I say to you is only for him. I don't mean any of it. Understand?" She nodded once. He left her mind just as quickly as he entered it. He said aloud so everyone can hear, "Are you ready slut?"

She bowed her head to him. "Yes sir."

"On your knees," he ordered gruffly getting well into his role as evil Death Eater.

She slowly lowered herself on her knees in front of him. She had to keep reminding herself that this was all a test. Her mind kept screaming at her that her Severus wasn't really like this, but it was difficult when his eyes were so dark and scary to look at.

He reached out and grabbed a fist full of her long mane of hair. "You want to pleasure me don't you my whore?"

She nearly hesitated with answering him, but she felt a tiny pull on her hair from him that reminded her of their circumstances. "Oh yes sir. I'll do anything you want."

"Unzip my pants and take out my cock." His words were spat out in anger and Hermione again had to remind herself where they were.

She reached out and unzipped his black trousers. She pulled out his member through the zipper hole and she looked up at him with fake eagerness.

His hand was still gripping her hair tightly. "Swallow all of it. Be a good little slut."

She closed her eyes and with great difficulty she opened her mouth. She took him down her throat and she heard the viewers who were watching them cheer loudly. Some of them shouted at them, "Harder. Shove it down her throat. I want to hear her gag on it."

Severus said inside her mind, "I'm sorry for this." He thrusted harder into her mouth and was rewarded with her gagging around his cock. He pulled back and did it again. He said aloud, "That's a good whore. You love choking on my cock don't you?" He kept shoving it into her mouth again and again. After a few minutes he said aloud, "Are you ready to fuck in front of them my whore?"

"Yes sir. I want to show them how much of a good whore I am." She hated herself for saying the words so easily.

"Strip for me and get down on all fours like I like it."

She slowly started to unbutton her shirt. After the last button she peeled it off her body. That was when she started to shake a little bit with fright. With shaky hands she reached behind her and unsnapped her bra.

He delved into her mind again. "Look at me. Don't look at anyone else. Relax. It will be over soon I promise. I am so proud of how strong you have been through all of this."

His words encouraged her to keep going. Her eyes stayed locked on his and she pulled down her skirt. She lastly peeled off her underwear. She went down on all fours happy that she was facing away from the other Death Eaters. She waited nervously for him to start talking again. She stared down at the floor.

Severus pulled down his pants and underwear and got into position behind her. He slapped her ass hard and said, "Are you ready slut?"

The slap startled her, but she quickly prepared herself hoping nobody saw her reaction. "Yes sir"

He slapped her again and said, "Beg for it."

"Oh please sir. I want you so badly." She hoped that would be enough.

"You don't want me. You just want my cock. Say it."

She closed her eyes and opened her mouth. "I want your cock." She nearly cringed after saying the words. She hated everything about this, but she had to stay strong.

"Where?"

"Inside me, sir. Oh please I'll do anything for it."

He slapped her ass again and said, "Very good my pet." He pushed inside of her forcefully. He pulled her back on his cock and began to thrust.

She couldn't help herself. Even though it was in public and she was scared shitless it still felt so good. She let out a moan. He started to fuck her hard knowing that they had to get this over with quickly. He didn't want to drag it out farther then what it was.

"How does it feel to be fucking your Potion's Master? How does it feel knowing how your friends would feel if they can see you now under me? You are just a whore aren't you? Say it!"

She sobbed, "I am a whore."

He thrusted once, twice, thrice and was rewarded with her coming around him. He pulled out and twisted her around. He shoved his cock into her mouth and growled, "Swallow all of it." He shot down her throat and she swallowed it down. He pulled out of her mouth and said, "That's a good whore. Now stand up and bow to the other followers and thank the Dark Lord."

She stood up on shaky legs and bowed before them. She looked at the Dark Lord and knelt before him. "Thank you my lord for allowing me to show you where my true allegiances lie." With a flick from Severus's wand she was fully clothed again.

The Dark Lord stood up and clapped loudly. "Very good my loyal followers, but Hermione I still have one more favor for you."

She stayed knelt before him and said, "I will be honored to do anything you ask of me."

He hissed at her, "I want to hurt Potter where it actually hurts. At your school tomorrow morning during breakfast you will announce to the whole school and in front of all of your friends where your true allegiances lie. You will announce to your friends the truth. You will brandish your dark mark in front of them all and watch as they stare in horror. That is what I require of you Hermione and when you do I will reward you with a gift."

She felt fear creep up inside her but quickly she distinguished it. "Yes my lord."

He warned her, "Draco will be there so he will inform me immediately if you did not follow through. Keep that in mind Hermione. You and Severus may go." She gripped Severus's arm tightly. The last thing she saw before they apparated was Draco's platinum blonde hair.

When they apparated back into Severus's living room she quickly let go of his arm and ran to the nearest bathroom. She threw up into the toilet feeling sick to her stomach about what she had to do. She felt Severus follow behind her and he started to rub her back gently. She wanted to yell at him to go away. She didn't want him near her after what he did. She knew it was all a show, but part of her was angry. He accioed a glass of water and handed it to her to drink. She stood up slowly and took a greedy sip from the glass. He reached out to touch her again, but she took a few steps back from him. She didn't want him to touch her.

He saw the way she was looking at him and how she kept trying to step back from him. "Hermione." He reached his hand out again towards her.

"Don't touch me."

He dropped his hand and took a step back from her. The words stung him. He didn't understand why she was acting like this.

She sighed when she saw that he was in front of the bathroom door. "Please get out of the way."

"Why are you acting like this? You know that wasn't me back there."

She didn't know how to explain it to him. She knew it wasn't him, but she still felt dirty and assaulted in some way and seeing him right now wasn't helping. "I just need to be alone right now. Please Severus."

He stepped away from the door and watched her leave the bathroom. Instead of heading back to her room as he expected she laid down on the couch and wrapped herself in the throw over blanket that was hanging over the side. He, without disturbing her, sat down in his armchair and took out his book. He pretended to read as she laid there quietly. He knew she was hiding her tears from him and it hurt him seeing her cry because of him. He wanted to hold her tightly to him and whisper sweet nothings in her ear. It was a strange feeling for him because he was so used to being this cold and calculating man. He hated that Voldemort caused this rift between them. He didn't expect Hermione to respond the way she did. Maybe he shouldn't have overdone it, but he had to in order to please the Dark Lord. As he sat there hating himself for what he had done he saw the tears start falling from Hermione's eyes. He heard the distinct sound of her sniffling and it made him hate himself even more. He was never in a situation like this before and he didn't know what to do. "I promise I won't touch you unless you ask me, but can you tell me why you are so upset Hermione?"

She looked up from her fetal position and stared at him. She didn't know he was still in here watching her. She swallowed thickly. She was unsure if she wanted to talk to him.

"I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong." She shook her head and buried herself more into her blankets. He sighed and opened his book angrily. He buried his nose into his book and began to read silently.

As the time went on in silence Hermione started to feel bad. She knew it wasn't his fault, but she didn't feel comfortable telling him. She stuck her head out of the blanket and looked over at Severus. She saw that he had an angry scowl planted on his lips and he was staring at the book in front of him. "Alright Severus I'll tell you."

He looked up from his book and set it down on the table. "Alright I'm listening."

"I didn't like being treated the way I was and I know it wasn't you, but I still feel like I was assaulted in some way. I don't want to be touched by you after what happen. I hated that I had to say things like that in order for the Dark Lord to be pleased with us. I hated that you had to fuck me the way you did. I felt like I was being fucked by someone I didn't even know. I feel dirty and gross and it's even worse that it was in front of a bunch of people."

He knew words wouldn't make her feel better. He stood up and quietly left the room. He re-entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He leaned against the door and closed his eyes. He stood there for awhile trying to think of what he can possibly do to make her feel better. He looked at the bathtub in the room and started the water. He added jasmine scented soap to the water to make it all bubbly. Lastly, he added a calming draught. He planned on getting her into the tub. The warm water and the calming draught within the water should provide comfort when he couldn't. He left the bathroom and returned to Hermione's crying form. "Hermione please get up. I got something for you that I think will make you feel better."

She looked up at him and she slowly detangled herself from the warm blankets she wrapped herself in. She got up from the couch and followed him into the bathroom. She saw the bath he made for her and instantly she realized the man she was dealing with. He wasn't the Death Eater bastard that was using her for pleasure. He was her caring lover, her friend, and her partner. She instantly felt bad for how she treated him. "I am sorry Severus for pushing you away. Thank you for drawing a bath for me."

"You don't have to be sorry Hermione it is I who should be sorry. I am sorry for what I had to do to you. I hate causing you pain."

"You had no choice Severus. You did what you were supposed to. I thought I could handle it, but I guess I'm not a true Gryffindor."

He closed the space between them and cupped her cheek. "You are a Gryffindor Hermione. You are so strong. You have done many things that a witch your age wouldn't be able to do. Now, I am going to leave you to your bath. Come find me when you're done." He started to walk away, but Hermione pulled him back by his arm.

"Please stay with me. I want your arms around me. You give me comfort when I need it most."

"Are you sure Hermione? I don't mind going back to my book."

"Yes I need you Severus."

He nodded slowly at her and they began to undress themselves. They both got into the tub and Severus wrapped his arms around Hermione. He pulled her tightly to his chest and together they sat there for hours comforting one another.


	39. Chapter 39

**Hello everyone! I would like to thank GeekMom13, HermionePotter1989, FranceHufflePuff, Snamione4life, elizabethrose1974, and cares 1970 for all their love and support. I truly do appreciate your reviews. This is another sad chapter, but we get to see two familiar faces again. Please leave a review and let me know what you think.**

Hermione was shaking with fear as she took the slow walk to the Great Hall. _Everyone is going to hate me. I will never have any friends again. Why must I prove my allegiance to the whole school? I know I'm Harry Potter's friend, but isn't taking the dark mark and killing innocent lives enough?_ The only thing keeping her from running away right this second was the knowledge that it was up to her for the war to end. She had to do this. There was no choice and she hated feeling defenseless. She hated not having a choice in her life. She entered the Great Hall and instantly her eyes searched for the only man that can provide her comfort. Last night he held her as she cried. She spent another night in his warm arms and he repeatedly whispered sweet nothings into her ear until she stopped crying. If it wasn't for him she didn't know how she would be able to handle it. There is only so much she can take and this specific task was asking a lot from her. She found his dark penetrating eyes. He was sitting at the head table talking to Professor McGonagall. He couldn't smile at her, but she saw a small twitch of his lips. That small twitch was enough for her. Besides, his eyes really did the talking. She saw the admiration he had for her and that was enough to keep her moving. She looked away from him and quickly took a seat at the Gryffindor table. Her stomach was too sick to really eat anything so she nibbled on a piece of dry toast and drank a glass of orange juice. She waited as the minutes started ticking by way too fast. She knew she had to get on with it. She couldn't sit here any longer. She took her last sip of orange juice and stood up from the table. She took a deep breath trying to settle her nerves. She slowly inched her wand up to her throat and amplified it. "I have an announcement to make." Her voice carried over everyone else's conversation. Everyone looked at her nervous figure as she stood in the middle of the Great Hall. "I have been lying to all of you and now I feel like it is time to come out with the truth." She already heard the whispers begin at each table. She heard the students whispering about what she could possibly be lying about. She began again by saying, "You all thought of me as Harry's best friend and the brains of our group. It has all been a lie. My true allegiance really lies with The Dark Lord." She rolled up her sleeve and brandished her dark mark. "I am a Death Eater and I follow Lord Voldemort until the end." She lowered her wand from her throat with a trembling hand. She watched as the Gryffindor's all booed at her. Shouts of "betrayer" "scum" and "kill her" could be heard across the Great Hall. The Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaw's followed suit. Only the Slytherin's seemed indifferent about it. She saw the outrage on everyone's faces and her eyes filled with tears. Her tear-filled eyes found Malfoy's icy blue ones and saw genuine remorse on his face. She quickly turned and ran out of the Great Hall before anyone can grab her. She felt her tears start to fall from her face as she ran. She made it to the Potion's classroom and walked into the secret corridor to his rooms. She made it to the couch and she laid down upon it burying her face into the warm pillow. As she buried her face into the pillow the smell of Severus slowly started to ease her pain. She heard him enter the room and he quickly walked over to her. He enlarged the couch and got in behind her.

He held her tightly to him and whispered, "Just breathe it will be alright."

She sobbed outwardly by his words. She wailed, "They all hate me. They think I'm some kind of monster. I lost all my friends."

He said, "You are not a monster Hermione. You are brave and we will get through this head on. Remember, you are a Gryffindor. You have been through so much my love. This is just another hurdle to overcome and I know you can do it."

She whimpered, "But I have nobody."

He twisted her body so they were lying face to face. "Look at me Hermione. You have me and you have the Order standing right by you and when this is all over it will be okay."

She whimpered again, "But we don't know how long that will be. I am going to be stuck in this school for days with people hating me and attacking me."

He hugged her tightly and said, "You can stay in my rooms until the end of this damn war. We can have our meals together in here to limit your interaction. Classes unfortunately will be difficult to avoid, but I will be there for you Hermione be strong. Show them your Gryffindor courage. Now are you my lioness or not?"

She gave him a watery smile and said, "Always." He kissed her on the lips and held her to him. "Why did he even ask me to do this?" She asked quietly.

"Well you are in fact Potter's best friend. He obviously had doubts about your true allegiance and figured that if you didn't do this then you aren't a real follower," he responded.

"Now they probably think I am working with you and Malfoy. I mean it makes sense with how many excuses I made."

"It doesn't matter what they think. At the end of this they will know the real truth. For now we just wait. You know how long I have been hated and seen as a Death Eater? Forever. I know what it's like Hermione. It doesn't feel very good but I know I have people like Dumbledore and you that support me and know the real me."

She snuggled into his hold and said, "I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you by my side."

He said, "Simple you'll still be the brave lioness I know you are."

She looked into his eyes and said, "I love you."

He said back, "I love you too." They laid there sprawled out on the couch in each other's arms.

She said, "So what do I do now today? I sure can't go and hang out with my friends and I can't go out to Hogsmeade. What do you normally do on the weekends?"

"Grade papers honestly. Some weekends I have to watch over Hogsmeade visits but not this one."

She thought long and hard about what she can possibly do. "Can I go visit Remus and Sirius?"

"Well I do have papers to grade so yes. Go use my floo and I will see you later." She stood up and kissed him goodbye.

She walked over to the floo and dropped the powder and said aloud, "12 Grimmauld Place." She appeared in the middle of the kitchen.

Molly saw her and said, "Dear what are you doing here?"

She smiled at Molly happy that she was no longer angry with her. "I came here to see Remus and Sirius."

"I'll call them down. Just go sit at the kitchen table. Would you like anything?"

"A nice hot cup of tea would be nice thank you Mrs. Weasley." She sat down at the kitchen table.

Molly made her a cup of tea and yelled, "Remus, Sirius company here to see you." Hermione took a sip of her tea and watched Remus and Sirius come down the stairs. Hermione felt a slight ache in her heart when she imagined James and Lily following along side of them. She stood up from the table and went over to hug them. They each hugged her tightly and sat back down at the table.

"I apologize that I wasn't able to tell you I was leaving or who I really was," Hermione said sadly.

Remus gave her a kind smile and said, "I understand Hermione."

"Did you know who I was when you saw me in my third year?" She asked curiously.

"When I first saw you I didn't believe it. I thought I was just imagining it, but you had the same name, you looked exactly the same, and you even acted the same. I mean sure obviously years younger, but I had to know for sure. I approached Snape and he told me to "get out," but I knew it was you by his reaction."

Sirius eyed her and said, "Are you sure you want to do this Hermione? You know you have a choice."

"It's already in place Sirius. I have the power to end it. If I can defeat him then no one else gets hurt. There have been too many victims and I am not allowing anymore to die. I know what I have to do and when it happens I will be ready for it."

He nodded and said, "Alright then I'm with you every step of the way. What is the plan then?" She retold the plan to Sirius and she watched his face fell with worry. "That's dangerous Hermione. Are you sure you can actually do this?"

"I have to agree with Sirius here Hermione. Is it really worth risking your life?" Remus inquired.

She felt honored that they cared so much about her well being. "Well I'm going to practice on dummies to perfect it, but yes I am sure I can do it when the time comes."

Remus smiled at her and said, "You are so brave Hermione. I wish there was another way. I don't want to risk your life, but it sounds like you have it set in your mind what you have to do."

She felt tears enter her eyes and she said, "I love you guys. I don't know what I would do without you." She looked at Sirius and said, "I am so glad to see that you are alive. You have no idea how much I cried when I came back from the past knowing how many of my friends wouldn't be there. I am glad to see that you are still my friend. I am so sorry for the twelve years that you had to live in Azkaban." She turned to Remus and said, "I am sorry that you had nobody by your side. You truly must have gone through hell when you lost James and Lily and then to lose Sirius to Azkaban is terrible. I am sorry that I wasn't able to warn any of you of what was to come. Dumbledore prevented me."

Remus gripped her hand across the table comfortingly. "It's okay Hermione. We know you had no choice in the matter. I'm not angry with you and neither is Sirius."

Tears streamed down her face and she said, "It was so difficult to leave. I was happy in that timeline. I honestly was considering staying there because I wanted to be with Severus and see James and Lily get married. I wanted to see you two grow up as well, but I knew I couldn't. It was difficult knowing that James and Lily were going to die. I wanted to do something to save them. I miss them so much."

Remus gave her a watery smile and said, "I miss them too Hermione. We all do."

"Remus, how did Severus act when he found out I left?" she asked curiously.

He frowned and said with a sigh, "He didn't take it very well or at all for that matter. If you want I can show you a memory of it using a pensive. I have one up in my rooms."

She smiled at him and said, "That would be nice. Thanks Remus." He left the table to go get the pensive.

"The memory he is going to show you isn't going to be nice," Sirius warned.

She said, "Why? Did you bully him again?"

"No we were trying to talk to him, but once you left he didn't want to be around us."

Remus returned with the pensive and set it down on the table. He pulled out a memory strand and put it inside the bowl. He said, "Here is the morning of your disappearance."

Hermione said, "Thank you" and dipped her head inside the bowl.

She was sucked into the memory. She saw Remus, Sirius, James, and Lily tearing the whole Gryffindor common room apart trying to find her or figure out where she went.

James said, "She is always here. Where could she have possibly gone?"

Lily said worriedly, "I didn't even hear her enter my room last night to go to sleep. I don't think she was even there at all. I hope nothing happen to her."

Sirius said begrudgingly, "Maybe Snivellus knows."

Lily sighed and said, "You promised Hermione that you wouldn't call him that anymore."

Sirius rolled his eyes and said, "Fine let's go find him." They left the common room and Hermione followed them down the hallway. As they were walking, they saw Severus gripping a letter and standing in front of The Great Hall. Sirius called out to him, "Hey Snape where's Hermione?" He turned to them and Hermione could tell that he had been crying.

 _Oh Severus I am so sorry for hurting you._

Severus shouted at them, "Leave me alone."

Lily said, "What's wrong Severus?" He balled the letter up and threw it at her in response. Lily reached down and picked it up. She opened the letter up and read it to herself.

 _Dear Severus,_

 _Dumbledore told me that my parents have changed jobs again and we are now moving to a different Country farther away. They got a great job in the Americas and unfortunately I have to move. I am sorry Severus that it had to be this way. I love you so much. If I had known sooner I would have let you known. Stay strong Severus and don't do anything drastic. Stay friends with the Marauders. They don't mean any harm and they are good friends if you give them a chance. Remus wants to be your friend and so does Lily. I promise we will meet again Severus. Don't give up hope. You do have people that care for you. I love you with all my heart Severus. You are my love and will always be. When we see each other again don't forget that Severus._

 _Forever Yours,_

 _Hermione_

Lily looked at James and said, "She left the school. She is no longer here."

James said, "Why didn't she tell us?"

Severus said hurtfully, "Because she doesn't care. It's all a fallacy. If she really liked or loved anyone of us she would have told us she was leaving."

Hermione gasped in shock. His words hurt her. It was like a knife in her heart.

Lily turned to him and said, "Severus you know that is not true. Hermione adores you. She probably had no choice or maybe she found out in short notice."

Severus shouted, "I wanted to kiss her goodbye or at least give her a damn hug. She couldn't even give me that. Two months of this gone to waste." He pulled the letter from Lily's hands and ripped it in two. He mumbled, "Her words aren't worth the ink that was used." He turned and started to walk back the way he came from.

Hermione watched him walk away from them quickly. He was turning his back on the people who hurt him in the past. Without Hermione he didn't want them as his friend anymore.

.

Lily called out, "Severus wait."

Hermione tried to shout at him to come back, but she knew no one can hear her.

Severus called back, "I am done Lily and all of you Marauders. You guys treated me like shit before Hermione came and now you will continue to treat me like shit. I don't need fake friends like you guys. I have my real friend's ones that won't leave me with a fucking letter."

Hermione shouted, "No wait Severus! I'm sorry please don't go." As she ran after him the memory ended there. Hermione pulled her head out of the bowl and looked down at the table with tears in her eyes. She choked out, "I didn't have a choice. I swear if I had the choice I would have hugged you all goodbye but Dumbledore needed me to leave to hurt him. I hate what I did to him. I mean did you see his face. He was crying when he got my letter. He felt like the only real people he had were fucking Rodolphus and Regulus. He deserved better than the life he was given." She buried her face into her hands and started to cry.

Remus handed her a tissue and said, "Don't cry Hermione. It's over now. We all understand why you had to do what you did even Snape."

She wiped her eyes with the tissue Remus gave her and she smiled at both of them. "Thank you for being here for me. It's nice being around people who don't hate me after what happen today."

"What happen Hermione?" he asked worriedly.

"Was it Snape?" Sirius asked angrily.

She rolled her eyes at Sirius's response. "No it wasn't anything Severus did. He actually helped me through it. I was unfortunately given a task to do today by You-Know-Who. He had doubts about where my allegiance truly lied. He wanted to give me a task that would challenge me to prove my worth. His task ended up being I had to tell the whole school that I followed him and not Harry. You should've seen the look on everyone's face. If looks could kill I would've been dead before the last word was out. I couldn't even look over at Harry. I didn't want to know what his reaction was."

"That's awful Hermione. I am sorry that you had to go through that. Is there a plan to keep you safe while you are at school?" Remus asked.

"Well, I am going to stay in Severus's rooms while I am not in class and also for meals. We are going to keep my interaction with the other students to a bare minimum. That's the best we can do though under these circumstances. I still got classes to go to and walking through the halls will be difficult, but I am going to try my best to stay calm and ignore the other students."

"Won't you be bored not having any friends to talk to?" Sirius asked.

"No not really. I got Severus to lean on."

Sirius gagged and said, "Why is he all you ever talk about? Is he really that great of a person Hermione? Don't you see the type of person he is?"

She really didn't want to fight about Severus with Sirius anymore, but she felt an overwhelming sense to protect her lover. "He means everything to me Sirius. He has helped me through everything. Why can't you just be happy for me? I thought you would grow up by now but apparently not. I don't have to answer to you. You have no claims over me now stop talking about Severus like that."

Remus felt the tension in the room mount. Normally he was the mediator when it came to these type of things, but he couldn't sit by and hear the two of them fight anymore. "Sirius, if Hermione is happy then I think we should lay off. She doesn't need your constant arguing about the man she chose to be with. They seem happy together. Now just let it go."

Sirius sighed knowing both of them were right. "Fine I won't argue with you anymore Hermione. If you're happy then I won't mention it anymore, but if he ever hurts you Hermione I will be here for you."

She smiled at him and said, "That won't happen, but if it does you will be the first to know."


	40. Chapter 40

**Hello everyone! Things do not go well for Hermione in this one either. We will get there though. Thank you to everyone who left a review in the last chapter. Now on to the story!**

Hermione returned to Severus's rooms a little after 1 after meeting with Sirius and Remus. It was a lovely visit and she was happy that she still had them as her friend. She saw Severus sitting on the couch scribbling all over a pile of papers. While staring at him, her stomach decided to make itself known. It growled quite loudly in the quiet room distracting Severus from his work. He looked up from his papers and said, "I do have a house elf that comes when called. If you want I can have Tilly bring us something to eat. I am quite starving myself."

She smiled at him and said, "I would like that a lot. Thank you Severus."

"Tilly," he called quietly.

A lovely little house elf appeared in the room next to Severus. She bowed her head to her master and said, "Yes Master Severus? How may I serve you?"

"Can you bring us each a bowl of soup, finger sandwiches, pumpkin juice, and chocolate pudding?"

She bowed her head and said, "Yes Master Severus. Tilly is pleased to serve."

She disappeared to get their food ready. Hermione took a seat on the couch next to Severus and picked up a forgotten essay that was on the other side of the table. She began to read it. It was a poor first year's essay. She cringed and made a sound of displeasure. She set it back down on the table and turned to her companion who was busy reading his own essay. "You have to read these terrible essays?"

He laughed and said, "It's just one of the jobs of being me."

"That was truly awful. Are all first year essays that bad?"

"No, but they aren't great. Only one student in the past ten years did I give full marks on their essays," he said with amusement in his voice.

"Who was that?" She asked curiously.

He said, "Obviously you."

"Why me? I mean there was bound to be other first years that had better essays then mine?"

He said, "Honestly your papers were astounding for a first year. They were long to read but they weren't just essays straight from a textbook. They actually had real knowledge on the pages. I enjoyed reading your essays. They are in fact the best first year essays that I have read as a teacher."

"Yet you never once called on me to answer a question or gave me any acknowledgment. Why is that?" She asked accusingly.

He sighed and said, "I knew you knew the answer. You knew every damn answer I asked and yet even after I didn't call on you you still tried to get me to call on you every class period since the first."

"I didn't think you knew that I knew the answer. I just wanted acknowledgment. Just one time, but you never did." Her voice had a hint of sadness

He said, "Why? If I would have called on you Hermione I wouldn't be able to reward you any points. I am meant to look like I hate Gryffindor's which is why I ignored your hand waving, plus I still was angry at you for leaving me in the past. I am sorry that I didn't give you the attention you deserved."

She said quietly, "I wanted your attention for years. At the beginning it was because every teacher in my existence praised me for how well I did, but you never acknowledged me one bit. That is my own problem I guess. I was adored by my parents, adored by teachers, and the one teacher I wanted to amaze didn't give me a second glance. It all changed at the very beginning of my fourth year. Ever since you saved us against Remus I saw you in a different light. This time around I wanted your attention for a different reason, but again I still was ignored. Then you made me cry during my fourth year with my teeth. I still wanted you to like me. Not like now but at least like me as a student. When Dumbledore came to me with this idea I wanted to do it because I thought I could finally get you to like me. I didn't know where it was going to lead, but I am happy that I finally got your attention."

He said, "I didn't realize it was that serious."

She leaned against him and said, "Harry and Ron thought I was nuts. They didn't know that I liked you, but they always got on to me when I defended you about something. They really hated you with a passion. Harry sees you as some betrayer, while Ron thinks you're an actual bat."

He chuckled and said, "Better be careful I might suck your blood." She laughed and that is when Tilly returned with their food.

She set the tray down on the table and said, "Anything else I can get you Master Snape?"

Severus said, "No Tilly. Thank you very much."

The elf bowed lowly before him and said, "Tilly only wishes to serve sir." She disappeared back to the kitchens. Hermione dipped her spoon into her soup and tasted the broth.

She said, "Hogwarts always makes good food. Makes me miss it over the Holidays or when I go back with my…" She stopped mid-sentence remembering that this year she won't be going back to her parents. She didn't even know if she can find them.

"Why did you stop talking?" He asked worriedly.

"You are going to be angry at me for what I am about to tell you," she said apprehensively.

"Tell me. I can fix it whatever it is." He grabbed her hand and he made her look up at him.

She chewed on her lip nervously and said, "Over the summer, right before I left for Hogwarts, I thought about how large this war is and how much danger muggleborns actually are in. I thought it would be best to send my parents to Australia with no memory that they ever had a daughter."

He said angrily, "You obliviated your parents?"

She looked away from him and said sadly, "I did it for their protection. I didn't want them to get killed just because of me. I figured that after the war is over I will find them one day and maybe be able to get their memories back."

He lifted her head up with his finger. "Hermione, when you obliviate someone it is very difficult to get their memories back, especially if they are a muggle. You should have come to one of us about this. We could have put them somewhere safe."

She shook her head angrily. "I can't regret my decision Severus. If they were found they will have no memories of me so they can't be used. I wanted them to be safe and not just feel like they are safe. If they can't get their memories back at least then they wouldn't have died because of me. I didn't want them to end up like Neville's parents." The last words were said in a whisper. She picked up one of the sandwiches and nibbled on it as she thought about the decision she had made. He sat back and picked up a sandwich for himself.

He took a bite and said, "Does anyone else know about your parents?"

She shook her head. "No. I didn't tell anyone." He finished off his sandwich and started on his soup. Hermione and Severus sat in silence as they finished off their lunch. Severus called Tilly to take their plates away and he got back to grading his pile of papers. "I have to get to the library. I got to revise my paper for Professor McGonagall that is due Monday. I will be back later this evening for dinner since I can't enter the Great Hall anymore." She kissed him on the cheek and left his rooms with her bag. On the way to the library students passed by her and shouted names at her. She ignored the students and headed into the library. Only a few students were in the library, but then again it is the weekend. She sat in the corner of the room away from the other students. She took out her book, her essay, a quill, and a bottle of ink. As she was revising her essay she heard footsteps approaching. She looked up and saw Harry and Ron. She looked back down at her essay knowing that she couldn't tell them anything.

Ron was the first to speak. He exploded in anger, "You traitor! How can you do this to us? I thought we were friends." He took a deep breath and continued on screaming. "I don't know how Dumbledore can just keep you here. You are a danger to everyone around you. You want to see all of us go down. Why would you do this Hermione?"

Hermione looked up at them and said quietly, "I am sorry. I am unable to tell you anything."

Harry looked at her and said, "Were you hit with the imperio curse or forced to do this?" Hermione can tell that Harry was struggling to believe that one of his best friends was really a death eater all along. She shook her head no at him.

Ron said, "I know why she did it Harry. She wanted to save her own skin. She joined so she didn't have to die as the war went on. She is selfish and only cares about herself." She stood up with tears streaming down her face.

She yelled at them, "That is not true and you know it! How can you believe that? You know me better than that. I care about all of you. I love you two as if you were my brothers."

Harry said exasperated, "Then tell us why you would do this Hermione. Why would you join someone that wants me dead? Why would you join someone that wants all muggleborns dead?"

She said, "I can't tell you. I am sorry."

Ron pointed a finger in her face and said, "I hope you are proud for what you have done. Now you have no friends at all. When the war is over and You-Know-Who is dead Harry and I will make sure that you are sent to Azkaban along with the other death eaters. Come on Harry let's leave this death sucker alone." Harry and Ron left the library and Hermione sat back down at the table crying into her hands. After she stopped crying she decided to stop by Professor McGonagall's office. She packed up all her belongings and headed out the door. She took the long walk there and was able to avoid any confrontations. She reached her office and knocked on the door. She waited patiently and heard her say behind the door "Enter." She opened the door and walked inside closing the door behind her. She took a seat and said quietly, "Hello Professor." She felt like she was going to cry again.

Professor McGonagall grabbed Hermione's hand and said, "I am so sorry dear for what you are going through."

She smiled at her and said, "Thank you."

Professor McGonagall said, "Did You-Know-Who make you confess?"

She stared down at her hands in shame. "It was a favor he wanted from me and I had to do it for real because he would make sure Malfoy would tell him the truth. I would have never said anything otherwise."

Minerva squeezed her hand and said, "I wish you came to me sooner about all of this."

She said, "I had no real choice in the matter Professor. If I didn't go back in time this could have messed up the timeline and it would have been all my fault. There isn't much that can be done Professor. What is going to happen is I will perfect my body shield and when the time comes I will bring him down and you guys will come in and kill the rest of them. That is the plan."

Minerva said, "I have faith in you Hermione. So why did you come here?"

She felt tears stream down her face and said, "I just wanted to see a friendly face. Someone that doesn't hate me for what I am doing." Minerva stood up and went around her desk.

She hugged Hermione tightly and said, "I always thought of you as a daughter Hermione and I am so sorry that you have to go through this. I will always be here for you if you need an ear."

Hermione hugged her back tightly and said, "Thank you Professor. I really needed this." They broke the hug and Minerva sat back down.

She said, "How are you and Severus?"

Hermione smiled and said, "He's my beacon of light. He encourages me and makes me feel like I can do anything. I love him and without him in this situation I don't think I would be able to go on. He's everything to me Professor and I don't care what people think."

"When I first heard about this I was mad and disgusted honestly," she admitted. "Severus is so much older than you and he's a teacher, but I understand it now Hermione. When the war is over I will support you two together."

She smiled at her and said, "Thank you Professor. I really appreciate your support." She looked down at her hands again and said nervously, "Do you think Harry and Ron will forgive me?"

Minerva said, "For becoming a death eater? Yes. When they find out why you did what you did everyone is going to see you as a hero. For dating Severus? I don't know."

"They are my best friends Professor. I am not choosing between my best friends and the love of my life. It's not fair. They should be able to accept my choices."

"You shouldn't have to dear and I would tell them that when the war is over. If you were really my friends you would support my decision."

"I hope that the end is near honestly. I don't know if I can handle going to classes for weeks while everyone glares at me," Hermione said sadly.

She said, "When do you think you will plan the attack?"

Hermione said, "Severus wants to make sure that I am 100% prepared for it, so I probably will be training for a week. Then we got to let the whole Order know and have you guys on standby for when it is time. We can't go until he even calls us, but Severus says he usually calls once a week and it's always usually a Friday, so let's say it is Friday in two weeks I think is when we are going to go for it."

Minerva gripped her hand and said, "Stay safe and good luck. I have faith in you Hermione and we will all come out at the end of this alive." Hermione gave her another hug and left her office. She walked down the hallway and was headed back to Severus's rooms when she was confronted by Two 6th Year Ravenclaws and a 7th year Gryffindor. The Gryffindor student was tall and easily was a foot taller than Hermione. He had sandy blonde hair and played as a chaser in Quidditch with Harry. They had their wands drawn and were pointed at her.

Hermione said fearfully, "What do you want?"

The Gryffindor said, "Don't speak to us Death Eater scum. We are here to get justice and to stop you from planning anything."

Hermione took out her own wand and said, "Listen I don't want any trouble."

The Gryffindor said, "You asked for it when you betrayed Harry and everyone else." One of the Ravenclaws casted expelliarmus, while the other Ravenclaw casted flipendo. Hermione was quick to block them both and sent back immobulus. They blocked it. The Gryffindor casted sectumsempra.

Hermione blocked it and shouted, "Hey that's dark magic. It is illegal."

The taller of the two Ravenclaws laughed and said, "You do dark magic all the time death eater. That is the pot calling the kettle black." All three started casting rapid fire spells at her. Hermione blocked as many as she could but one of them from the Gryffindor sent her flying back on her ass. She tried to get back up but one of them casted expelliarmus and she no longer had her wand anymore. They surrounded her on the floor with their wands pointed straight at her.

The Gryffindor said, "Hey Rudy do you have that spell that you found?"

Rudy said, "Yes I am ready to cast Kristoff." Kristoff casted incarcerous and tied Hermione down to the ground so she wasn't able to move. He ripped open her shirt sleeve on the side that didn't have the dark mark.

He yelled to Rudy, "Go Rudy! Cast before someone catches us." Rudy pointed his wand at Hermione and casted adolebitque proditor. Word started cutting into her skin. Hermione closed her eyes and tried to fight back the pain. The words dug deeper and created the word betrayer.

The other Ravenclaw pointed his wand at her and spat at her, "Sectumsempra." Cuts and lacerations started to appear all on her skin and oozed out blood. Hermione struggled to stay awake. Somewhere in her mind she remembered she could do wandless magic. She wandlessly casted off the ropes bounding her to the floor and quickly stood up. She was about to cast on them again when they all decided to run. Hermione knew she couldn't run after them. She found her wand lying on the ground and quickly picked it back up. She felt lightheaded and was ready to pass out right on the spot. With all the strength she can muster she casted her patronus. Her silver otter looked up at her. She said shakily, "Get Severus. Tell him to come to the corridor between Professor McGonagall's office and the dungeons." She sent it off and felt herself get dizzy. She sat herself down and saw how much blood she lost. She felt her eyes closing and the battle to stay conscious was lost.

Severus had just finished grading his last essay for the day and was about to make himself a cup of tea when he saw Hermione's patronus. He heard the message and quickly ran out of his rooms and down the corridor. When he finally got there he couldn't believe what he saw. There was a pool of blood under her and she was found unconscious. He shouted, "Hermione" and quickly ran to her. He picked her up and ran her back to his rooms. He laid her down on his couch and started to slowly heal the lacerations on her skin. He waved his wand and said the incantation in a sing song voice. It went on for over an hour and he didn't stop until the lacerations turned into scars on her skin. He then accioed a bottle of blood replenesher. He pointed his wand at her and said, "Rennervate." Hermione slowly woke up from her unconscious state. Severus handed her the potion and said, "Drink. Based on the blood I saw you lose in the hallway drink all of it." Hermione downed the bottle. She looked down at her arms and saw the scars that were left behind. She looked at her other arm and saw the word betrayer carved into her arm.

She whispered, "These will never go away will they?"

He said, "Probably not. I am sorry. Who did this to you Hermione?"

She said, "Three boys. Two 6th years from Ravenclaw and one 7th year from Gryffindor. They wanted to get revenge on me for doing what I did. I was heading back from Professor McGonagall's office and they surrounded me. They had their wands drawn and I had no choice. I tried to fight back and I forgot about my stupid shield. I wasn't thinking about it. It's not fair though. How am I supposed to win in a fight against 3? So they eventually got my wand away from me and they tied me down to the floor. I forgot I can do wandless spells. When you are in that moment and you are tied to the floor you feel helpless. One of the Ravenclaw boys came up with their own spell and that is how this lovely word is now forever etched into my arm. The others you probably already determined are from sectumsempra. They probably learned it from bloody Harry."

Severus growled, "They will be punished severely for their crimes."

Hermione said, "But they were just…"

Severus cut her off and said, "That doesn't matter Hermione. They broke school rules. They attacked a student." She knew she wasn't going to win this fight.

She said quietly, "What is their punishment?"

Severus said, "Weeks detention I would imagine." She stood up and went to the bathroom. She peered at herself in the mirror and instantly started crying again. She had a large scar that ran down her cheek from the spell. She even had scars covering her hands. Severus heard her crying in the bathroom and knocked on the door. He said, "Are you okay Hermione?"

She opened the door and said, "Look at me. I'm ugly."

He said, "No you're not Hermione."

She said, "Yes I am. Look at all my scars." Severus started to unbutton his shirt. "What are you doing?"

"I am showing you why you should not be ashamed." He pulled his shirt off and said, "Look at how many scars I have Hermione. Do these scars define me?"

She said, "No Severus."

He said, "Neither do yours. Don't look at them as hideous marks. They are battle wounds. You are beautiful Hermione. Don't ever doubt that." She smiled at him and hugged him tightly to her.

She said, "You are way too good to me."


	41. Chapter 41

Hermione begrudgingly got out of bed and headed down to the living room. Severus was already dressed for teaching. Hermione said, "Again I have no clothes in this room. I should start moving my stuff into your rooms. I can't even go back to Gryffindor tower."

He said, "After breakfast I will walk you to Gryffindor tower and make sure you get your stuff without any trouble. For now come sit so we can eat."

She sat down next to him and said, "So what are we doing today in class?"

He said, "A test."

"Most students won't be prepared for it."

"I am well aware of that. I want to see how many of my students actually understand it instead of memorizing it out of a textbook." She picked up a piece of toast and nibbled on it.

She commented, "At least I'm good at Potions." She took a sip of her orange juice.

He said, "You are just going to eat a lousy piece of toast?"

"I never was a big breakfast eater and honestly I'm nervous about today."

"Ignore them Hermione. It doesn't matter what they think. When they find out the real reason in a few weeks it will all be over." She finished her piece of toast and picked up a piece of bacon. As she ate her bacon Severus was just finishing his cup of tea.

She finished her bacon and said, "Are you ready to leave?"

He frowned at how very little she ate, but he knew there was no point of arguing with her. "Yes let us go." They walked out of his rooms and through his office. They slowly walked down the hallway and passed other students.

"Are you sure you want to be seen with me?" She asked worriedly.

He said, "Of course. I don't want you to get attacked again." They made it to the fat lady painting. "I will wait out here and we'll walk back to Potion's since that is your first class this morning." Hermione said the password and walked inside. Severus stood there and waited for Hermione to get her stuff. Gryffindor's walked by him and looked at him strangely. After a good ten minutes of waiting Hermione finally emerged with tears streaming down her face.

Severus said, "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Nothing let's just go." Severus and Hermione walked back to the dungeons in silence. Hermione was trying to keep her emotions in check but Severus could hear her sniffling all the way to the dungeon. Severus saw students waiting outside the door for class to start.

He said aloud, "Ms. Granger stay behind after class." He unlocked the door and the students shuffled in.

Hermione sat in the corner of the room far away from everyone else. She knew that no one would want to sit next to her or be near her. She ended up sitting alone after everyone came in. It was for the best. She didn't want anyone being forced to sit next to her.

"Today we are going to be taking an exam," Professor Snape announced. A series of groans could be heard around the room. He snarled, "Silence! This is practice for your N.E.W.T.S. It is to see who here is ready and who here still needs a lot of help." His eyes flicked over to where Neville was sitting. He jabbed his wand at the chalkboard and ten questions appeared. He said, "Take out your parchment, quill, and ink and begin. You have until the end of the class period to answer all ten questions."

Hermione followed instructions and began to read to herself the first question. The questions were difficult and all required elaborate answers. Hermione winced knowing that most of the class will probably not do very well, including Ron and Harry. She started writing in her eloquent script. The first question easily filled up half the page. She winced again knowing that Severus will have a lot to read with just her answering them. The second and third question were answered with ease, but the fourth question was when Hermione wasn't sure of the answer. She read it again and started nibbling on the tip of her quill. She looked around the room and saw many students scratching their heads and others scratching out what they written. She concentrated back on to the question. It didn't make any sense. It was a trick question and Hermione knew there was some other meaning then what was being asked. Her eyes flicked to where Severus was and found him walking around the room. She said to herself, _Think like Severus. Think of what he would want the answer to be._ She read it one last time and remembered something she read in a book. She took the quill out of her mouth and wrote down the answer that she believed it to be. She went on and was able to answer all the rest of the questions until she got to the last one. It required three parts, but again it was extremely difficult. She started chanting to herself, _You are good at potions. You are good at potions. You are good at potions._ She looked up at the clock and saw they only had 10 minutes left of the class period. She closed her eyes and tried to think hard. She kept thinking and thinking and heard Severus say, "Quills down. Your test is now over." With a jab of his wand all the papers were collected neatly on top of his desk. Hermione bit her lip and was unhappy that she didn't finish. Severus dismissed the class. Everyone left quickly out of the room. Hermione stayed there staring down at her table.

Severus approached her and said gently, "Are you okay Hermione?"

She said quietly, "I didn't finish."

"It's only a test. It's not a big deal."

"Yes it is. I always do well in potions."

"You are good at potions. What did you get stuck on?"

"It was the last question. I didn't know the answer. I always know the answer."

"It's just one question. If you got all the other ones right then you will still get an exceeds expectations. Now smile for me." She stared at the board again and tried in vain to understand the question. He rolled his eyes and said, "The answer is lace wing fly, beetle juice, and centaur blood."

She muttered, "Centaur blood?"

"Yes centaur blood. Those are the three ingredients."

She scowled and said, "Why couldn't I think of that?"

He said, "Well you do have a lot on your mind Hermione. We all have our off days. It's just one question."

She stood up and said sadly, "Well I better be heading off to Defense Against the Dark Arts before I'm late."

"Wait. Why were you crying earlier?"

"It doesn't matter now."

"It does to me. I want to know."

She stared down at her shoes and said almost inaudible, "They ransacked my room."

He said, "What did you say?"

She said a little louder, "They ruined my room. I'm glad I had a lot of my stuff locked but on my mirror written in red lipstick was the words traitor, whore, slut, killer, so many words. I put all of my stuff that I had in my bag and on the way out these Gryffindor girls saw me and started taunting me. They tripped me down the stairs in front of all of the other Gryffindor's in the common room. Not even Harry or Ron reacted. I officially lost all my friends and not even Gryffindor tower is a sanctuary."

He pulled her into a hug and said, "Remember what I told you. You will stay in my rooms until this is all over. You will keep your head up high and when this is over in hopefully 2-3 weeks everything will go back to normal. Potter and Weasley will forgive you and all the other Gryffindor's will too."

"I wish this will go by faster. I feel miserable."

"I know you do my love, but you got to stay strong. I will see you later." He leaned down and kissed her on her forehead.

Hermione smiled at him and left the classroom. She quickly walked to her next class and found herself making it just in time. She took her seat again in the corner of the room.

The professor said, "Today we are going to be practicing safe spells on each other. Pair up and start dueling."

Hermione looked around and saw that everyone was paired up. She looked down at her shoes knowing that no one wanted to be paired up with her.

A voice said, "I'll duel with you." She looked up and saw Malfoy. She gave him a weak smile. They pointed their wands at each other and began their duel. Hermione didn't use her shield. She didn't want Malfoy to know and then go and tell You-Know-Who. No one can know of her abilities. It was too dangerous. Malfoy was strong, but Hermione felt stronger. She casted at him levicorpus. Malfoy ended up hanging upside down. She giggled slightly. She let him down slightly on the ground. He picked up his wand and scowled at her. He casted locomotor mortis. Hermione casted quickly protego. Malfoy wasn't quick enough and his legs ended up together and he fell to the ground. She casted the counter curse and helped him back up.

He commented, "You're really good."

She smiled at him and said, "Better be careful. People might think that you are actually being nice to a Gryffindor." Hermione and Malfoy continued to duel throughout the class period until the Professor dismissed them. Hermione grabbed her bag and headed to her next class, which was Transfiguration. She walked inside and again found herself sitting alone. She saw the many glares that were pointed in her direction. She kept her head held high and didn't pay them any mind.

Professor McGonagall entered the classroom and said, "Good morning students. Today we are going to be transfiguring our chairs into a whole table. It is very difficult because you are taking a smaller object and transfiguring it into something larger. Does anyone want to volunteer in front of the class?" Without thinking Hermione's hand shot up in the air. "Okay Ms. Granger. Please come up here in front of the room." As she walked to the front she could hear the many whispers from the other students.

She stood in front of the room and said to Professor McGonagall, "What is the spell?"

The Professor said, "Tap the chair three times with your wand and clearly say the words tabula motus."

Hermione took out her wand and cleared her throat. She tapped the chair three times and clearly said, "Tabula motus." The chair transformed into a large table.

Professor McGonagall clapped and said, "Well done Ms. Granger. 10 points to Gryffindor. You may return to your seat." She smiled at her and walked back down the aisle to her seat. Professor McGonagall said, "Take out your wands and spread out in the classroom. You may begin."

Hermione looked around the room and saw poor Neville trying with all his might to change the chair to a table. The closest he got was just making a larger chair. She saw that he wasn't stating it clearly. She stood up and approached him.

She said kindly to him, "Neville its mo-tus not more-tus."

Neville looked at her and so did everyone else. He snapped at her, "Leave me alone death eater."

She recoiled and said, "I'm just trying to help you."

Ron spat at her, "He doesn't need help from someone that is fucking a teacher. Is that how you have an outstanding in Potions?"

She took a step back and said, "I am not with any teacher Ron. That is immoral and wrong on so many levels."

He said, "Oh yeah? Then why did Lavender tell me she saw you walking with Snape and how he waited outside the tower for you? It all makes sense now. You have been defending him for years, but really you two have been in cahoots all along."

She snapped at him, "We haven't been doing anything."

Professor McGonagall said, "That's enough Mr. Weasley. You two will stop this arguing at once or I will have to give you both detentions. Is that clear?"

Hermione said quietly, "Yes Professor." Ron glared at Hermione one last time. Hermione walked away back to her secluded corner. _Oh god now there is rumors that Severus and I are together. We weren't careful at all were we? Remember what Severus said. Keep your head held high and ignore them._

Classes for the day were finally over. Hermione rushed back to Severus's rooms. She walked through the secret corridor and entered the living room. Severus wasn't back yet. She put her bag down on the couch next to her and called out "Tilly." Severus's house elf appeared. She said, "How may I serve you Ms. Granger?"

Hermione said, "Can you please get me a cup of tea and a muffin please?"

She bowed low and said, "Yes Ms. Granger." With a loud pop she was gone. Hermione sat down on the couch and took out her Ancient Runes textbook, her ink, her quill, and lastly her homework. As she was opening her book Tilly returned with her tea and her muffin.

Hermione said, "Thank you Tilly." Tilly bowed her head and disappeared with a pop. Hermione took a bite of her muffin and started on the first question of her homework. She had ten sentences that she had to translate into English words. She searched through her textbook and translated the first sentence with ease. She took a sip of her tea when Severus came through the living room and slammed the door behind him. She looked up at him and saw anger coming off him in waves. She said worriedly, "Did something happen?"

He ignored her question and growled, "Accio firewhiskey." The bottle zoomed into his hands. He took a long pull from it. He came over to the couch and sat down next to her.

He said, "It started when I had the stupid first years. They cannot make a simple potion without fucking it up. So one of the students I consider him Neville Jr. put in the wrong ingredient and made the potion explode and it went everywhere. Of course the first year cried and blubbered how sorry he was. Then to make matters worse I had the 6th years at the end of the day. Everything was going fine until one of the students had the nerve to raise his hand and ask me if the rumors were true about you and I. Of course all of the other students looked at me hopefully wanting to know if they were true and I had to deal with that and them whispering to one another." He took another pull from the bottle. He realized what he was doing and said, "I'm sorry for whining about my problems. How was your day?"

She said, "It had its ups and downs. Every class period I ended up sitting alone, but it's better than sitting with someone that doesn't even want to be near you. Malfoy was being weirdly nice during Defense. He offered to be my dueling partner. Then Transfiguration is where everything went wrong. I tried to help Neville with his spell casting, but he called me a death eater and told me to leave him alone. After so many years of helping his ass that's how he acts and then Ron joined in and got into an argument with me mid-class about how I fuck teachers to get grades. He then said how you and I were working together and Professor McGonagall told us to stop or we'll have detention, so there's that. Charms and Ancient Runes were fine. Again I sat alone, but no one bothered me, so all in all it wasn't completely a shitty day."

"Did you eat anything during lunch?"

She said, "No I hid in the library, which is why I am eating a muffin and drinking some tea." She took another bite of her muffin.

He said, "Mr. Weasley is just being an ass and acting out."

"I am well aware of that. Lavender has been talking to him again. If I hear Lavender go "Won-Won" again I'll be sick."

"Draco I think feels remorse for what you are going through. I know that sounds hard to believe, but he genuinely feels bad."

"Or maybe because he sees me as a death eater he thinks were allies because he is one," she said defensively.

"Why can't you let it go? He doesn't want to be a death eater Hermione. I know that it is hard to believe but it's true."

She clenched her fist and said, "He still believes in blood superiority and is overall pompous attitude does not make me want to be friends with him." She mumbled at the end, "That is why I punched him in my third year."

"If you get to know him you will see he's not really like that."

She said, "When the war and school is over I promise I'll be cordial to him. That doesn't mean we will be friends, but it's something." She continued to work on her homework, while Severus took out his essays and started grading. She was on her last question that she had to translate and it was difficult. There was an ancient rune on the homework page that she has never seen. She bit her lip and said, "Severus have you ever seen this rune before?" He looked up from his essays and looked over her paper.

He said jokingly, "I believe as a teacher I cannot help you with your homework."

She took a sip of her tea and shrugged. "Well it isn't Potions."

He looked at it again and said, "It's in Hogwarts: A History."

Her eyes lit up and said, "You're right. I should have known that. I read that book at least one hundred times."

He said quietly, "I used to love that book too when I was at Hogwarts. Every summer I would read it because I missed using magic. Even if I was of age my parents would never let me use magic. Sometimes I wish I could have lived at Hogwarts instead of going home."

"But didn't you miss your parents?"

He scowled and said, "My mother maybe. My father no. My father was a drunk and hated my mother and me because of what we were. He made her into a muggle and would refuse to let her use magic. He beat on both of us when he was too drunk and he always had a temper. I hated him and I loathed my mother because she allowed us to be in that situation. When he died I didn't even go to his funeral. I haven't been in contact with my mother since that happen and I don't want to."

She hugged his side and said, "I'm sorry about your parents. Everyone deserves good parents."

He said, "It doesn't matter anymore. It's too late now to dwell on it."


	42. Chapter 42

**Hello everyone! Thank you GeekMom13, ilovedifferentmixesup, elizabethrose1974, LoveInTheBattlefield, and YourDiamondAngel for all your nice reviews. I really do appreciate your support. This is where the war finally ends. Please let me know what you think.**

Two weeks flew by quickly. Over the two weeks, Hermione trained her ass off perfecting her shield and memorizing the spell she had to use. They trained in the room of requirement every night and the more she practiced the better she got. The last two weeks had also been hell for Hermione. She sat alone in all of her classes, no one ever talked to her, and the times they did they called her names. Ron still was being an ass and now the whole school saw her as a whore for being with Severus. The rumors spread very quickly throughout the school once Ron heard from Lavender. He spread it around to his other mates and now everyone believed that Severus and her were sleeping together. Severus didn't pay any mind to the rumors. In fact he was quick to take away points and give out detentions if anyone mentioned it when he was near. Hermione on the other hand found it difficult to ignore. Severus tried to help her through it as best he could. He listened to her vent and he held her as she cried multiple times throughout the two weeks.

Today was Friday and they both believed that they were ready for the plan to commence. All they were waiting for was to be summoned by the Dark Lord. She was on edge and frighteningly nervous. She didn't want to mess this up. This might be their only chance to finally end it. Severus already alerted Dumbledore and the Order about what was going to happen hopefully tonight. Now it was time to play the waiting game. She was currently sitting on the couch and was thinking of the plan in her mind. She felt her hands start to shake. Severus had his back to her and began talking. "If by chance you get him alone don't hesitate Hermione. If you can't get him alone set your shield ready and wait until the right moment and then cast." She didn't respond. She was deep in thought. He turned to her and said, "Hermione?" He saw her shaking and walked over to her. He put his hand over her hands.

She looked up at him and said, "I'm sorry. What were you saying?"

"I was going over the plan again with you."

"I know what I have to do," she said a little unsure of herself. She started to chew on her lip.

"Don't be nervous. You have practiced so long and you know the plan backwards and forwards. You are strong Hermione. You are the bravest person I know."

She smiled at him bashfully. "You always keep my confidence up."

He sat down next to her and asked, "Do you feel ready for what is about to happen?"

She nodded slowly. "I know what I have to do, but getting that chance to do it is still a question in my mind. If he doesn't talk to me alone I have to wait until the festivities are over. Is it possible to ask him to talk to you alone?"

"If you were to request him to talk to you alone you would have to give up some kind of information. That's actually not a bad idea. It might be the only way now that I think about it. He's unpredictable though Hermione. Just because you ask him doesn't mean he will allow it, but if you get lucky and he gives you the chance take it. I suggest you bring up Potter and tell him it's very important that he knows this. He just might allow you to talk to him alone."

"If I do get the chance what would I tell him then?"

"Anything to get him distracted. Tell him Potter is working with Dumbledore and that they have been researching ways to defeat him. If you get the chance do the spell and make sure your walls and your shield is up at all times. I won't be able to help you Hermione in this situation."

"And after I successfully defeat him what happens next?"

"The Order will come in and they will start fighting the Death Eaters. The Death Eaters that end up still living from the fight will be arrested and sent to Azkaban for life. The war will be over though. I know it sounds simple, but really we got to focus. We can't slip up."

"Do we have enough Order members?" She asked nervously. "I mean have you seen the amount of Death Eaters he has."

"We got a lot of extra wizards on our side. Unfortunately, Dumbledore also asked a few of the students to join the Order because of this, so because of those extra wands we should be close to out numbering them. Either way without You-Know-Who most of them will put their wands down because they don't have their leader anymore."

"Who did Dumbledore ask? Anyone I know?"

He said uncomfortably, "Yes. I didn't agree with his choices, but we do need those extra people. So, he ended up asking a lot of the students that already graduated and some students that are in their seventh year. You will see Fred and George have agreed to fight; Even Percy and Bill are coming. Unfortunately he also asked Potter and Mr. Weasley to join the fight."

"Of course they would agree. I wish they didn't have to though. I don't want to risk their life, but I know this war is important in order for us to win."

"Mr. Longbottom, Mr. Thomas, and Mr. Finnigan also agreed to fight."

"Neville with a wand scares me, but he has gotten a lot better in that aspect, plus based on his parents he probably wants to get revenge on what happen to them."

"We also got a handful of Ravenclaws to help us as well Ms. Lovegood being one of them along with her father."

"At least we stand more of a chance with all of those people. I am ready to end this Severus." She felt a little better that they had all those extra wands. She stood up from the couch and said, "I just hope when the war is over and when they find out I am actually dating you they accept us and if they don't well all well. This is my personal life. They will still be my best friends. I have two parts of my life Severus and I won't make myself choose between either one of you."

"If they are your real friends they should just drop it and leave it alone."

"I hope so too." She looked over at the clock and said, "It's getting a little late."

"Maybe he won't…" Mid-sentence their marks started to burn. Severus quickly sent a patronus to Dumbledore to tell him to get ready with the Order. He grabbed Hermione's hand and said, "Be ready."

She said with confidence, "I am." They apparated away from his rooms and they appeared in front of Malfoy Manor. Hermione took a deep breath and they walked inside the Manor. They bowed low in front of the Dark Lord and waited for him to announce that they can stand.

Voldemort said, "You may stand my loyal servants. I brought you all here today because I feel that we are not doing enough. We still have no news about Potter and I want to launch an attack. Who's with me?"

Everyone agreed, "Yes my lord."

"For now please enjoy the festivities. Have a few drinks and eat some food." Hermione squeezed Severus's hand letting him know she was about to approach him. She walked over to Voldemort and bowed low before him.

She stared at the floor and said confidently, "My Lord, I mean no disrespect but, I have news about Potter and what he has been up to. May I please talk to you in private?"

He hissed, "Of course my loyal servant. Please come into my rooms." Hermione stood up and followed him into the room to the side of the huge ballroom that they were in. The room they entered was huge, which made Hermione more comfortable with what she was about to do.

She began to speak. "My Lord, Potter has been conversing with the fool that runs our school. I have been following them and listening in on their conversations and I have found information that I need to tell you."

His eyes widen slightly with interest. "Continue," he hissed out. He was still staring deep into her eyes trying to find a hint of deception. She already had her walls and shield up and was waiting for him to look away or at least move away from her sight.

"Potter has been researching in the library a spell to defeat you My Lord. He thinks there is a spell out there that can kill you that hasn't been found. The fool has even written letters outside of the school to famous wizards to see if there is a spell possible," she lied smoothly.

He laughed a loud and said, "The fool really thinks he can defeat me? I am immortal. I will survive forever." He finally started to move. He had his back to her.

Hermione didn't hesitate anymore. She wandlessly and silently casted at the Dark Lord mors ad omnes. The spell hit him and Hermione felt his magic get sucked into her with so much force. She felt slightly disoriented by the feeling but she quickly focused her eyes back on Lord Voldemort who now was coming towards her angrily. He screamed, "No what happen? What did you do to me?" He went to reach for her and she quickly casted Avada Kedavra. She watched as he fell to the ground dead.

Hermione quickly ran out of the room with her shield ready. She felt the difference immediately when he was gone. As she entered the room, she saw the Order members have already appeared and the fight began. She took out her wand and started to fight. She saw Malfoy and his mother grab hands and apparated away from the fight. She thought about Lucius and where he could've possibly have gone, but she didn't have much time to dwell on it. She saw Bellatrix was fighting Harry and he was losing.

She acted quickly by pointing her wand at her. "Avada Kedavra," she shouted. Bellaxtrix didn't see it coming. She fell to floor dead. Hermione found her other friend Ron and watched as he killed Greyback. The fight went on forever. Surprisingly even without their leader the Death Eaters did not want to go down without a fight. The fight didn't end until every Death Eater was either dead or tied up ready to be sent to Azkaban. When the fight was finally over Hermione felt so much emotion. She was finally free. Tears of joy streamed down her face. She quickly looked around the room desperately needing to find the man she loved. She found him smiling at her. She ran over to him and shouted, "We did it!" She threw her arms around him and kissed him with all she had.

"No you did it Hermione. It is finally over. We can go on and live a normal life." She squeezed him tightly to her and she couldn't stop smiling. Hermione looked around the room and saw that there weren't any causalities on their side at all. Some were wounded, but nothing severe. Everyone she cared about made it out alive. Sirius and Harry were hugging each other. All of the Weasley's, excluding Ginny, were in a group hug crying with happiness. Luna and Neville were also in a hug, while her dad stared on uncomfortably. Remus and his wife Tonks were also in a hug. Harry and Ron looked over at her and she saw recognition cross their faces. She quickly let go of Severus and they all ran to each other in a group hug. Harry was the first to apologize.

Harry said, "I am so sorry Hermione that we were mean to you. I had no idea that you were a spy. I should've known from the beginning. It didn't make sense that you joined the Dark Lord."

"Yeah 'Mione we are sorry. Will you forgive us?" Ron said looking down at the ground.

She smiled at them and said, "Of course. We are best friends." They all hugged again.

Harry looked over at Severus and said uncomfortably, "So um you and Snape?"

"I love him Harry. He has been there for me throughout this whole situation."

Ron said, "But he's Snape. How can you like him?"

She said, "It's a long story and we got to start heading back to school. It's way past curfew and the Order has to start clearing out this place. I will tell you guys when we get back to Gryffindor Tower."

Ron said, "You better have a good explanation."

Harry said, "Did you know Sirius was still alive?"

She looked down at her shoes and said, "Only for a few weeks. I didn't know he was alive until Dumbledore made me go to an Order meeting. They didn't allow me to tell you that he was alive. He had to stay hidden because it was dangerous. I am sorry Harry."

Harry said hurtfully, "I wish you would have told us."

"I wanted to. I really did, but they didn't want Sirius to be used to lure you again. I didn't want to risk your life Harry. I care about you."

He slowly let it go and said, "Are we leaving now then?"

"Yeah let me just go tell Severus I am leaving."

Harry and Ron both said simultaneously, "Severus?"

"Well what do you expect me to call him Professor Snape?" She walked away from them and found Severus talking to Dumbledore. She said, "Severus I am leaving with Harry and Ron."

He nodded at her. "Since things are going to go back to normal you should probably get your bag out of my room and go back to Gryffindor Tower," he said sadly. He really didn't want her to go, but it was inappropriate of them to have her still live in his rooms. Besides, they had their whole life together now that there was no more war or anyone to answer to.

"Yeah I guess that makes sense. I'm going to miss your rooms and sleeping next to you. You give the best hugs."

He smiled slightly at her and said, "My rooms are going to miss you too."

She hugged him and said, "Thank you for being there for me throughout this ordeal."

"You're welcome Hermione."

"Have a goodnight." She smiled at Dumbledore and said, "Have a goodnight Professor."

Professor Dumbledore smiled back at her and said, "You too Ms. Granger. Thank you for saving the Wizarding World. I am sorry for what I had to put you through, but hopefully now you can understand why I did it."

She nodded at him and excused herself. She understood, but forgiving him was a different story. She walked back over to Harry and Ron and the three apparated away. They appeared at the front gates of Hogwarts. They walked into the castle and Hermione made them walk down to the dungeons with her. They got to the door of the Potion's classroom. "Wait out here while I get my bag." Hermione entered the classroom and into the secret corridor. She entered Severus's rooms and took one last look around them. She really was going to miss his rooms. It became home to her the last few weeks. Hopefully she can be in his rooms again soon, but for now she grabbed her bag and left the way she came. The Golden Trio walked back to Gryffindor Tower in silence. They reached the Fat Lady and Harry was the one who said the password. They walked inside and Ginny was the first one to approach them.

She pulled Harry into a hug and said, "I'm glad to see that you all made it out."

Harry said, "So Hermione are you going to tell us now?"

She sighed knowing that she owed them some kind of explanation. "Alright go find a seat around the common room and I'll tell you the story." She took a seat in the big arm chair and Harry, Ron, and Ginny sat on the couch. "It all started months ago right before the Yule ball. Dumbledore came to me and asked me to go back in time."

Harry and Ron shouted, "What?"

Hermione ignored their outburst and continued on with her story. "I went back in time when Harry's parents and Severus was in school. I was there for three months. Time was stopped here so that's why you guys never noticed I left because technically I really didn't. I befriended Severus as the plan wanted me to. The more I was around him the more I started to like him. He ended up liking me too. We were a couple for two and half months and then I unfortunately had to go back. I felt so bad because I broke his heart and I lost friends that I had, including your parents Harry. I will show you some of my memories later when I get the chance, but when I came back to my time I was so lost. Severus is my professor and at the beginning he didn't want to be near me because I hurt him. I tried to convince him and over the winter break I finally convinced him I had no choice in the matter. We weren't going to date until after school was over because obviously he is still my professor, but Dumbledore wanted us together to face You-Know-Who. I know you guys still think of him as some kind of death eater or an ass in general, but he's really good to me and honestly I love him with all my heart."

Ron said, "But he's a greasy git, Hermione."

Her anger started to mount. "Leave him alone Ron. Throughout this whole month I went through hell and he was there for me through it all. He kept my confidence up and honestly I feel like because of him I was able to do what I had to do."

Ron crossed his arms in anger. "But you're supposed to be with me Hermione not him."

"You don't own me Ron and it's not like we were together to begin with. You were with Lavender and I found someone that made me happy. I am not sorry for my choices."

Harry said, "Stop being an ass Ron. She made her choice."

Ron said, "And you are just okay with this even after the way he treated you."

Harry said, "Yes. I want Hermione to be happy and if she is happy with him then I'm fine with it, but if he ever hurts you Hermione I will hurt him."

Hermione smiled at Harry and said, "Thank you Harry. I appreciate your support."


	43. Chapter 43

**Hello everyone! I'm so sad that this story is almost over, but I am considering making a sequel and seeing how Hermione handles a Potion's apprenticeship. Please let me know if you would actually like to read a sequel to this story or if you want me to just end it the way it is. I also have a new story that I have posted. It is four chapters in and it is another SS/HG story. It's called Savior in the Dark if you would like to check it out. On to the story!**

Hermione, along with the rest of the Golden Trio, walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Even though the war just ended school continued to go on as if nothing happen. Their friendship was forged back together and Hermione couldn't be any happier. She had her friends back and she still was able to see Severus. "Did you see the way that 6th year looked at me in the common room?" She asked her friends.

"He doesn't know yet what happen. When he sees The Prophet this morning he won't look at you like that," Harry said.

They walked into the Great Hall and saw the rest of the students looking at Hermione. Some still were in disgust and others were in admiration for what she had done. Her eyes flicked over to the Slytherin table and found Malfoy's icy stare. She looked away from his gaze and sat down at the table.

"Hey the Minister of Magic is here," Ron pointed out.

Dumbledore stood up at the podium and everyone in the room quieted down. "Good morning students. Before we begin eating I have an announcement to make. The war is officially over. You-Know-Who has been killed by one of our own students. Ms. Granger please stand and come up to the table."

Everyone start cheering and clapping when they heard the news. Most of the whole school was already aware of what went down, but for many of them this was the first time hearing it. She stood up from the Gryffindor table and walked up to where Dumbledore was standing.

"The Minister of Magic is here to present Ms. Granger a medal for her bravery. Please clap for Ms. Granger as she receives her reward." The Minister put a medal over her head and Hermione watched as everyone stood up and started to clap for her again. She heard the cheers and she even saw some of the Slytherin's stand up. When the cheers finally died down Dumbledore turned to Hermione and asked, "Would you like to say something before we resume breakfast?"

Hermione thought about it and decided that yes she would in fact like to say some words. "Yes sir I would." He stepped away from the podium and Hermione took his place. She felt shy as she stood at the podium. Everyone was staring at her waiting for her to speak. She cleared her throat and began speaking. "Um, hello everyone. A lot of you saw me as a betrayer and believed me to be a part of the most corrupt group in existence. Hopefully you all understand what my reasoning was behind it. I was a spy that helped defeat You-Know-Who. I still supported Harry, but I wanted to do something more for the war. Even though I was the tool who ended up ending the war I don't deserve all the credit that I have been receiving. There is another person that has helped me through this journey and I feel should be recognized for his accomplishments. A lot of you have seen him as a bad person. Some of you have even gone as far as to say he's a Death Eater and deserves to die along with the rest of them, but he's a hero. He did what not many people can. He was a spy for so many years and he risked his life so the Order can stay informed. Then it was my turn to be a spy and he was there for me every step of the way. Please clap for Professor Snape. He's the bravest person I have ever known and he deserves every bit of it as I do."

Getting that off her chest felt good. She couldn't let his name be tarnished anymore. He deserved to be seen as a hero. People started clapping again. She saw in the corner of her eye how uncomfortable he was with people clapping for him, but he deserved to be recognized as well. After the claps slowly faded she continued on talking. "I honestly don't think I deserve this medal. I did what I had to do for the greater good and if I had to do it all over again I would. We are now finally free. Muggleborns don't have to be scared anymore. We don't have to be looked at as some inferior race because we are not. We are all wizards and witches. We are all equal. Thank you."

Another round of applause went out. Hermione smiled at everyone and turned and looked for Severus. She found his face and gave him a huge smile. He didn't smile back at her, but she saw his lips turn up just a little. Before anyone else can see, his lips went back to his infamous scowl. She left the podium and returned to her seat.

"Thank you Ms. Granger for that wonderful speech you may now eat!" Dumbledore announced. He spread his hands and food appeared on the table.

Everyone began to eat joyfully. There was a sense of calmness that has never been felt before. It truly was a wonderful change. Even some of the Slytherin students were happy that the war was over. Hermione scooped some scrambled eggs on to her plate and buttered a piece of toast.

"Hey Hermione, do you want to go to Hogsmeade with Ron and I? I think all 3 of us deserve a day out and we can go get a butter beer," Harry asked hopefully. He had missed his friend dearly and he felt horrible for how they treated her the last few weeks. He wanted to make it up to her somehow.

She smiled at Harry, happy that they were friends again. She forgave both of them for how they acted the last few weeks. In all honesty she understood why they acted the way they did and she couldn't blame them for it. Now that the war was over the fight between the three of them ended as well. "That sounds great, Harry. I'd love to."

After breakfast, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny headed out of the castle and headed towards Hogsmeade. There was a whole group of students that followed them, looking forward to a day out. Along with the group of students were Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall who were on supervision duty for the day.

Harry looked over at Professor Snape and whispered to Hermione, "That was really nice what you said about Snape earlier."

"Well it's true. I don't want people to look at me as some kind of hero," she said strongly. It was true. She didn't want people to treat her like they did Harry when he was considered the chosen one, but she knew that it would happen anyway. She was now considered the hero of the wizarding world.

"But you are 'Mione. You saved the whole wizarding world!" Ron said excitedly. Hermione saw that everyone was staring at them because of how loud Ron shouted. She blushed deeply in embarrassment.

"I agree with Ron Hermione. Not many people are brave enough to fool You-Know-Who," Ginny added.

"I just did what I had to do," Hermione muttered in response.

"How were you able to defeat him?" Harry asked curiously.

She looked over at Neville and Luna who were walking next to them holding hands. She was happy that Neville found someone after all. "Remember when I was sent to the infirmary because of Neville's potion?"

"Yeah that was awful. What happen while you were there? I thought you didn't have any problems. You were out of the hospital the next day," he said worriedly.

"Well, Neville's potion affected my magic. I am so powerful that I could take people's magic away by a simple spell, so in the past few weeks I've been training for when the right moment comes. I was able to convince him to talk to me alone. I made up how you were talking to Dumbledore about some spell and he stupidly turned his back to me and that is when I did the spell. It hit him too quickly and his magic was sucked out of him and I killed him. That is when the Order came in and helped with the rest of them," she explained.

"Well I guess Neville did something good for once with a potion," Harry commented. They finally made it to Hogsmeade. "So where should we go first?" He asked eagerly.

"Let's go to the book store," Hermione answered excitedly. Harry and Ron looked at her with displeasure. She mumbled, "Or we can go get a butter beer."

The three walked to The Three Broomsticks. They walked inside and found a seat in the corner. Hermione watched as Severus and Professor McGonagall also walked into the pub and sat down near their table. Hermione took a drink from her butter beer. She looked over their table and saw Severus drinking fire whiskey and Professor McGonagall drinking Honey Meade. Severus caught her eye. She smiled at him and raised her glass to him. He smiled slightly and raised it as well.

Ron scowled and mumbled, "I still don't see what you see in him."

"Well you are in fact a guy so I don't expect you to," she retorted.

His face matched his hair and he scowled in anger. "But Hermione he's greasy and bat like. Have you seen his huge beak of a nose?"

She glared at him and said, "His hair is not greasy. It's actually nice and soft. He is not a bat and I like his nose. I don't care what you think Ronald."

"Stop being an ass brother. I for one support Hermione's decision," Ginny said in defense to Hermione. Hermione smiled at Ginny with thanks.

"But Ginny you know she belongs with me. Mom wanted us to get married. She looks at Hermione as if she was her own daughter. We belong together," he argued.

"I am not an object. You don't own me Ron!" She shouted angrily.

Ron stood up from the table and went down on one knee. "Hermione I love you. I have loved you since first year. Please will you dump that guy and come be with the man you deserve?" He looked at her eagerly, hoping his words would change her mind.

Hermione flushed when she saw everyone staring at their table. She couldn't believe how he was acting and to do this in front of an audience was ridiculous. She shook her head at him. "No Ron. I love Severus. You and I can never be."

He stood up and pointed a finger at her face. He growled, "You will regret this Hermione." He stomped out of the pub in anger. Hermione looked down at her butter beer in sadness and embarrassment.

"My brother is a hothead Hermione. Don't worry about him. He'll get over it," Ginny said next to her.

She looked up at Ginny and said, "Honestly if he doesn't all well. He is not going to bully me into loving him. I am tired of explaining myself and this is the last time I'm going to say anything about this. He makes me happy. I love him and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. You guys are going to have to learn to just accept it because he's not going anywhere."

"Ginny and I will stand by you no matter what Hermione," Harry said encouragingly.

She smiled at them, happy that she had two friends that accepted her decision. "Thank you for being mature about this. I know it's weird, but based on the circumstances it makes sense. It's not like we randomly got together because I was a student and he was a teacher. Honestly, if it wasn't for Dumbledore, we wouldn't be together until school was over because we both agreed it's inappropriate. He's not a pervert. We had a little bit of an issue during the Order meeting because the ones that didn't know our story or the reason we were together attacked us about how wrong it was. Molly was really upset and Professor McGonagall was as well. Of course Sirius was and still is upset, but he's just jealous that I wasn't one of his conquests."

Ginny choked on her butter beer when she heard the last sentence. "Was Sirius really like that?"

She nodded at her remembering how Sirius acted as a teenager. "Unfortunately yes. He was very handsome at that age and he knew he was. Of course a lot of the girls also found him attractive and he would have a trail of girls follow him. It was disgusting, but that's Sirius."

"How was my dad?" Harry asked excitedly.

She looked down at her butter beer knowing she shouldn't sugarcoat it. "Well, it was difficult at the beginning to be friends with Sirius and your father Harry. They bullied Severus very badly. I didn't want to be friends with them, but they eventually showed me that they were better people. Of course they still hated Severus, but that's because of their own jealousy. So I did eventually become friends with them and every now and then I hanged out with them. James was an awesome Quidditch player Harry. He reminded me of you so much. You are just like him. He was mischievous and liked to get in to trouble and he knew how to make everyone laugh." Tears started to fall down her face. She whispered, "I miss him a lot."

Harry grabbed her hand and said, "I'm sorry Hermione. If I knew it was going to make you cry I wouldn't have asked."

She wiped her tears away and said, "No you deserve to know about them. Your mom was amazing. She was kind of like me in a way. She worked very hard in her classes and honestly she had the best advice. She was always smiling no matter what and I loved that we shared our love of books. Your parents were a great couple Harry and I'm sorry you never got to meet them." She felt her tears start up again. "I'm sorry I'm crying like this. It's still so fresh in my mind. You have no idea how hard it was to leave them. I didn't want to leave them. I wish there was a way Harry, but the time line is very fragile. I felt so bad. I honestly felt horrible because I knew coming back to this time line they weren't going to be there." Ginny handed her a tissue. She dabbed her eyes and said, "Thank you Ginny."

"What was Professor Lupin like as a student?" Ginny asked.

She smiled at the memory of him. "Well, he was the quietest out of bunch. He loved to read books and he was very good in class. We hit it off instantly. Unfortunately there was nothing I could have done for Pettigrew. He wasn't around a lot anyway, but he was a rat even then. He tried to be the comedy relief of the bunch, but really he was a coward and a weasel. It made me angry how I had to pretend that I wasn't looking at the cause of how You-Know-Who was back and who will eventually betray James and Lily."

"That sounds painful," Ginny said sadly.

Harry scowled in anger. "I wish you could have done something Hermione, but I understand why."

"It was painful Ginny just seeing that smile on his disgusting face made my skin crawl. It was difficult hiding my anger around him. Even Severus noticed the difference."

"Must you call him that?" Harry asked with a frown.

"What do you want me to call him then? He's my boyfriend. I'm not going to call him Professor Snape unless we are in public or class. Would you call Ginny Ms. Weasley Harry?"

Harry looked down at his butter beer and said, "No, I guess not."

Hermione took a drink from her butter beer. They were almost finished drinking when Rita Skeeter entered the Inn. She approached their table along with her photographer. Hermione grimaced and Harry glared at her. "Go away," he said.

Rita Skeeter ignored him and turned to Hermione. "Hermione, tell me dear, how did a child defeat the Dark Lord? Tell me the details of your alleged affair with a Hogwarts teacher."

Hermione gripped her mug tightly. She tried to ignore her, but she kept firing questions at her. She was content on just ignoring her until she asked her, "Did he rape you dear? Is that why you aren't speaking?"

She turned towards her feeling her anger bubble to the surface. How dare she ask her that? How dare she assume that of him? "He is not a rapist! I love him," Hermione yelled passionately.

"Oh honey you are just brain washed," Rita responded with a laugh. Hermione gripped her mug tightly again and looked over at Severus. He was scowling at Rita Skeeter wanting her to go away. "Just tell us Hermione. Give us the dirty details."

Hermione downed her mug and said to Harry, "Let's leave." Harry nodded and the three of them exited the pub, but they didn't get very far before Rita Skeeter was on their heels.

"Come on just tell us how you stood before You-Know-Who and killed him. Either way we will get our story from somewhere. Why not from the person that actually had done it." She followed them and continued on yelling for her to answer them.

Hermione heard Professor McGonagall yell at Rita Skeeter, "Stop harassing my students. You don't belong here anyway. Now leave or I will make you leave."

"I will find out the truth. Mark my words." She and her photographer apparated away.

Hermione said to Harry, "I guess I should have realized that in public I'd be followed and asked questions."

"Well now you are the chosen one," Ginny joked.

"Better you than me," Harry admitted with a smirk.

Hermione rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "Just what I wanted."

"Now what should we do?" Ginny asked as they continued walking down the street.

"We can visit Zonko's and see Fred and George. They are always making something new for their shop," Hermione suggested.

They walked to Zonko's together in silence until Hermione asked, "So Harry what do you plan to do after our OWLs?"

"I think I want to be an auror. What do you want to do?"

"I am going to stay at Hogwarts and take up an apprenticeship with Professor Snape. I want to teach Potions. I think it will be a perfect fit based on how much I love school."

He said, "That's great Hermione. What about you Gin?"

Ginny shrugged and said, "I don't know yet. I know Ron wants to be a Quidditch player, but I don't want to play for the rest of my life, plus you know I still got one more year left compared to you two.

"You can always be like Molly and be a stay at home mom," he suggested.

She glared at him and said angrily, "Really Harry? Do you see me staying home all day squabbling over a bunch of kids? I mean of course I want kids one day, but I want to do something with my life. I don't want to stay home all day relying on you to pay the bills."

He put his hands up in defense and said, "It was only a suggestion." They finally made it to Zonko's and the three walked inside. They approached Fred and George.

"Hiya guys. What brings you to our shop today?" George asked in amusement.

"We just wanted to come and visit you," Hermione said.

"That was bloody brilliant of you Hermione the way you defeated You-Know-Who," Fred said.

"Thank you Fred."

"How's the shop been doing?" Harry asked.

"Our shop has been great! Best investment we have made in our entire life. What happen to Ron? Why isn't he here with you three?" George asked in fake concern. He honestly didn't care, but it did surprise him that he wasn't with them.

Hermione scowled. "He ended up embarrassing himself in the middle of the Three Broomsticks. He went down on bended knee and tried to ask me to marry him. He hasn't accepted yet that I have moved on."

Fred and George shook their head in disgust. "I'm sorry about my little brother Hermione. I support you," Fred said with a grin.

"I do too Hermione. Just give him time. He will come to accept it. He has to. You're his best friend," George added.

Their words made her feel a little better. Hopefully Ron can grow up and accept it for what it was. Maybe he just needed time to think. Hermione nodded at herself and continued on looking through their shop along with Harry and Ginny by her side.


	44. Chapter 44

**Hello everyone! Thank you everyone for their lovely reviews and for the ones who responded to my question. Since I heard so many positive responses, I will be making a sequel hopefully sometime soon in the future. I decided to add a little fluff in this chapter because we can all use it especially after the war happen and with Ron's awful behavior. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. I think there might be only one or two more chapters to go and then I will be working on the sequel to this story.**

It was in the middle of the night in Gryffindor Tower and Hermione just couldn't seem to fall sleep. Sleeping in Gryffindor tower was difficult for her ever since she went back to her old bedroom. She missed Severus's arms wrapped around her. The bed she slept in was too big and empty and wasn't as comfortable as the one in Severus's rooms. Ever since the war ended a few days ago, she had been plagued by nightmares even though the war was over. She dreamt of Lord Voldemort coming back. She dreamt of Severus dying in front of her. She couldn't keep going through this every night. It was starting to take its toll on her. She lifted her head from the Gryffindor colored pillow and swung her legs over the side of the bed. If she couldn't sleep she didn't want to just lie in bed staring at the ceiling.

When she got out of bed, she felt her stomach growl loudly in the quiet room. She didn't eat very much during dinner and now she found herself very hungry. She wanted a late night snack. She decided to sneak down to the kitchens and get something to satisfy her hunger. No one would be awake at this time right? She walked out of her room and quietly walked down to the stairs. She entered the common room and found it to be completely deserted, which she was thankful for. She exited Gryffindor tower, through the portrait hole, on a mission to find some food. She took out her wand and quietly whispered "lumos." Her wand tip lit up and she was able to see down the hallway. She walked down the hallways quietly trying to make as little noise as possible. The deeper she went into the corridor the darker it went.

She was almost to the kitchen when Peeves, the ghost, flew by and shouted down the hallway, "Student out of bed. Student out of bed."

She cursed and quickly whispered, "Nox." Her wand went out leaving her in complete darkness. She hurried over to an alcove and she hid herself knowing someone was bound to hear it and alert the Professor's. She held her breath and waited. She heard footsteps approaching and a swish of robes. She closed her eyes and waited for the person to walk by. The person walked right by her alcove and continued down the corridor. She thought she was going to be able to sneak past him or her once they kept on walking but her stomach had another idea. In the silence of the hallway, her stomach growled loudly again. The person turned quickly and Hermione found a bright light in her face.

Professor Snape lowered his wand slightly so it wasn't directly in her eyes and said, "What are you doing out of bed Ms. Granger?" His voice was laced with concern but his eyes and demeanor showed differently.

She sighed slightly feeling a little better that it was just Severus out and about and not another Professor. "I couldn't sleep," she admitted. "I wanted to get to the kitchens for a midnight snack because I was hungry."

His eyes soften slightly at her words. "Why couldn't you sleep?"

She blushed slightly and said, "I miss you sleeping next to me Severus."

He sighed knowing he felt the same way too. "I know Hermione. I feel it too, but we can't risk it. We got to live our normal lives as professor and student until school is over. We only have two more months until you graduate."

She pouted not liking their new arrangements. It just wasn't fair, but she knew he was right. "I know, but it's not like everyone doesn't know already."

He smiled slightly in amusement. "That doesn't make it any less inappropriate."

"I guess you're right." Her shoulders slumped in defeat knowing there was no point arguing about it anymore.

His heart strings pulled slightly at seeing the defeated look that crossed her face. He couldn't be mad at her even if he tried. "I will accompany you to the kitchen. You will have 1 midnight snack and then we will go our separate ways. Understand?"

"Of course," she said with delight. They walked silently to the kitchen which was only down the hall. They entered the kitchen and Hermione asked the elves for cookies and milk. The elves got her a plate of cookies and a glass of milk. She sat down at the available table and Severus sat across from her. "I apologize for waking you Severus. I know it's late."

"I wasn't sleeping either," he admitted.

She smiled slightly at him and took a bite of one of the cookies. He took a cookie from the plate as well and took a bite. "I also am sorry for Ronald's insolence at Hogsmeade the other day. He's jealous."

"Don't apologize for your friends Hermione. You can't control how they act." They finished up the cookies and milk and found themselves staring at one another.

"I miss when you were a student," she admitted bashfully while staring down at the table.

"Why?" He asked slightly confused by her admittance.

"We worked so well together as partners and I miss that, plus I miss sneaking around the castle and going to Hogsmede with you. I miss going to Quidditch games and betting on who wins. Most of all I miss our secret room in the Room of Requirement." Her eyes filled with tears as the memories started to come back. "I miss our walks around the grounds and sitting against the tree together. I miss seeing your eyes stare into mine when we ate breakfast. I miss sitting in the library doing our homework together. I just miss the little moments we had together and I'm so sorry I broke it." She burst into tears. He walked around the table and pulled her into a hug.

He stroked her hair and pulled her close to him. "We talked about this before Hermione. I know you had no choice in the matter. I forgave you Hermione and I meant it. You did nothing wrong. Stop beating yourself up about it." He held her tightly until her tears finally dried. He pulled away from her so she can look into his eyes. "I miss all those memories too, but unfortunately I am older now and I have my responsibilities as a Professor. I can't go sneaking around the castle with a student. That doesn't change how we feel about each other does it?"

She smiled at him feeling better now that he was here next to her. "You're right. I still love you."

He smiled and pulled her into another hug. "I love you too."

She snuggled into his arms not wanting him to let go. "I miss your hugs. I miss sleeping in your arms at night," she reiterated again.

He held her tighter to him and said, "I miss all of it too, but just a few more months Hermione I promise."

She frowned and asked again, "Why though? Everyone knows we are together."

"Hermione we went over this before. You are still my student. We cannot sleep together."

She shook her head sadly. "It's not fair."

He stroked her cheek gently with his thumb. "Hermione I have already received letters from angry parents about this situation. They want me fired. I am walking a fine line here Hermione and I have to keep you at arm's length."

She scowled. "Dumbledore will not fire you and you are a war hero. You did not just randomly date me because I was a student you dated me because we had to. I think anyone would understand our circumstance if they just knew our situation then no one would judge us or judge you really," she argued.

"You know I don't care what people think, but Dumbledore is right. No matter our circumstances this is inappropriate. I still grade your papers and me being your teacher I cannot sleep with you until your schooling is over. I have to be the adult in this."

She said sadly, "You don't want to be with me?"

He growled slightly and pushed her up against the wall. He kissed her hard on the mouth showing her how much he truly wanted to be with her. He pulled away from her lips. "You know how badly I want to be with you Hermione."

She said, "I do too Severus. Please can't we do something?"

He leaned his head against hers and felt his willpower ebbing away. He leaned in and kissed her again. He knew it was wrong, but god he missed her. "You win Hermione." He picked her up and sat her down on the table. The table was just right where he can angle himself and push into her. He started to help take her shirt off. She smiled cheekily up at him. She reached up and started to unbutton his shirt. They threw their shirts down and started to work on both their pants. Hermione laid back on the table and pulled her pants off. Severus unbuckled his belt and pulled down his pants.

"Wait! You know you could transfigure this table into a bed to make it easier."

He smirked at her and said, "That is why you are the smartest witch of your age." He pulled her off the table and transfigured it into a bed. She laid back down and pulled him down onto the bed with her. She pulled him into a kiss. He angled himself above her. He looked into her eyes and pushed into her. They both groaned aloud by the contact. They entangled their fingers together and he slowly began to thrust into her. Their love making was gentle and neither one of them wanted it to end. She leaned up and kissed him on the lips.

"I love you Severus."

"I love you too Hermione," he said back just as passionately. He knew this had to end so he started to thrust faster into her. "Come on Hermione. Come for me." She threw her head back and came around him. He started to thrust a little faster into her and came inside of her. He shouted out her name and collapsed on top of her. She hugged him tightly and kissed his shoulder. He rolled over and pulled her into his arms. They laid there quietly in bliss trying to get their breath back. She started to doze, but was woken up by Severus gently rousing her awake. "We got to go back to our rooms now." They left the bed and Severus turned it back into a table. They put back on their clothes silently.

"Can't I sleep in your room just this once?" she asked desperately. She needed him. She didn't want to go and have to wait two months to see him. "Please I need you."

He felt the fight in him fade away by her pleads and the look in her eyes. "Hermione if we are caught…"

"We won't get caught! I'll wake up early and I'll disillusion myself so no one will see me leave your room. Please just this once."

He sighed and nodded. "Alright Hermione just this once." They left the kitchens and walked all the way down to the dungeons. They entered his rooms and headed to bed together.

They undressed themselves and laid down on the bed. Severus wrapped his arms around Hermione and kissed her head. "I miss holding you," he admitted to her. She snuggled deeper into his hold. She felt her eyes starting to close from exhaustion.

"Good night Sev. Thank you for letting me stay. I love you."

"Good night Hermione. I love you too." He kissed her on her forehead and fell asleep holding her to his chest.

 _Hermione found herself standing in front of the Dark Lord. She was alone in the white ball room, which confused her even more. The Dark Lord was towering over her angrily, daring her to speak. She swallowed nervously and she started to shake with fear._

" _You think I am gone, but I will never be gone. My legacy will live on forever."_

 _She was unsure of what to do and how to respond to him. This wasn't real? Was it?_

 _He continued on speaking to her. "I still have my trusted followers." With a snap of his long snake like fingers the doors flew open and in walked lines and lines of Death Eaters. Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, Bellatrix Black, and Fenrir Greyback led the pack. They all approached the Dark Lord wearing their robes._

 _This time a different voice started to speak to her. It was Bellatrix Lestrange. "We aren't dead mudblood. You can't escape our clutches. You might think you are free, you might even go on and tell everyone that, but the truth is we will still be here waiting for you. We will get our revenge mark my words."_

 _Her words scared her. Was it true? Was the war really not over yet as they all imagined it to be? She opened her mouth to speak, but her mouth was sealed shut._

" _I have a gift for you mudblood. It's a parting gift for you, something for you to remember me by." Lord Voldemort's words came out with an evil hiss. He snapped his fingers again and this time a different door open. What came out of the door was a lifeless body and Peter Pettigrew was guiding it through the door. They reached the Dark Lord and the body was set down at his feet. There on the floor was Severus Snape._

 _She reacted quickly. She threw her body to the floor and cradled his body to her. She found her voice and she started to cry as she held him to her chest. "Severus please wake up. I love you."_

 _Lord Voldemort laughed along with his other followers. "He betrayed me and now it is time for your life to end as well."_

 _She clutched Severus tightly to her crying even harder now. She was ripped away from his body and she tried to fight to get back to him. "No let me go!" She screamed._

 _Lord Voldemort took out his wand and pointed it at her. "Any last words, mudblood?"_

 _She looked around waiting for something to happen but it never did. She was still stuck here with a wand pointing at her._

" _I take that as a no then Avada Kedavara."The green light hit her and she fell to the floor next to Severus._

Hermione shot up out of bed breathing hard and sweat pouring down her forehead. She put her head in her hands, trying to catch her breath again. It felt so real. Nothing like any of her other dreams she had. She felt Severus sit up along with her.

"Are you okay?" He asked groggily, still half asleep.

She turned to him and seeing him alive after seeing his dead body made the tears start all over again. She hugged him tightly and started to cry against him.

He held her tightly to him trying to provide as much comfort as he could. "It's okay Hermione. Everything is alright." He kissed her repeatedly on her temple as he held her.

"It just felt so real Severus," she wailed. "You were dead on the floor and the Dark Lord he was back. It's not true is it?"

"Of course not, my dear. It was just a dream. Have you been having these dreams a lot lately?" He asked worriedly. _No wonder why she doesn't want to sleep in Gryffindor Tower._

She pulled away from his hold. "Yes it happens every night, but this one was so vivid. It was like I was actually there. They were all alive again. Bellatrix, Lucius, Greyback, all of them just standing there, watching me die alongside of you."

"You know there is a potion that can help with that. I can give you a few vials and you just have to take a few sips every night. It's dreamless sleep. I used to take it back when I was a teenager. I know it's not ordeal, but I don't want you to keep having to wake up like this, especially alone."

She smiled at him in thanks. She laid back down against her pillow and he laid down alongside of her. "Okay Severus. Maybe that is for the best. What time is it?"

He looked lazily over at the clock behind him. "About 3:00 A.M. We got a few more hours before you got to go. How about you try to get more sleep? I'll be right here next to you if you need me if you start having a nightmare again. Just remember it's not real Hermione." He leaned over and kissed her softly on the mouth. He pulled away and hugged her to him. He waited patiently for her to fall asleep before closing his eyes and falling asleep himself.


	45. Chapter 45

**Hello everyone! This is the last chapter for this story, but as promised I will be making a sequel. The name of the story will be Hermione's Future: Life after the War. It will be a little fluffier, but I did come up with a conflict that has to do with this story. Please leave a review and let me know what you think.**

A few weeks went by and Ron approached Hermione with his hands in his pockets. He felt bad for how he had been treating her the past few weeks. He didn't agree with her dating the greasy git, but he would hold his tongue if it meant they can be friends again. He didn't understand what was so special about him. She was supposed to be with him. He planned for years to marry her, but she runs off with the bat of the dungeons. He knew he was just being bitter, but it made no sense. He was rude, callous, and way too old for her. He approached her in the common room when he saw her sitting alone, reading a book. He shuffled his feet slightly and started to fidget.

She looked up from her book and glared at him. She was angry at how he treated her the last few weeks. It was inexcusable. "What do you want Ronald? Need help with another homework assignment?" Her voice came out scathingly and she buried her nose back into her book, ignoring him completely.

His face was beet red in embarrassment. It nearly matched his flaming red hair. "No, I came here to apologize."

She lowered her book from her face and began to speak. "You should have apologized to me weeks ago. It's been almost a month now. You embarrassed me in front of the whole pub. What were you thinking proposing to me like that?"

"I wanted to win you back Hermione. I love you. I'm sorry that I embarrassed you, but it's true."

"Love? Really Ron? How can you say you loved me when you have been seeing Lavender for weeks? If you loved me you should've told me before not when I am already with someone. It doesn't work that way Ronald." She couldn't believe him. How dare he claim he did all this for love?

"That was before…" His voice trailed off.

"Before what? Before you realized that I was actually on your side? News flash Ron, I have been your friends since first year. I have stuck by you every step of the way, but the way you treated me during the war and even after the war has been awful. I thought you were supposed to be my friend."

"I wasn't thinking Hermione. I am sorry for the way I treated you. I just was so angry. I thought you betrayed us and you wouldn't explain why you were doing this. I thought you forgave me for that. You said you did," he said accusingly.

She sighed knowing he was right. She did say she forgave him, but part of her was still hurt by his actions. "I did forgive you, but it still hurt that you treated me like that. You made my life hell for weeks and you egged people on to purposely be mean to me. You don't know how it felt to be harassed the way I was. I know it's over now and it should have been over, but you still are acting like an ass. You don't own me Ron. Once you get that through your thick skull I will forgive you, but for now I won't. Everyone else accepted my choice and hasn't belittled me for it, but you on the other hand are upset about it and it's only because you feel like you have an attachment towards me. You don't. Severus does. I love him. He is the man I want to be with. End of story."

"You really can't find it in your heart to forgive me?" He asked hurtfully. "What happen to us Hermione?"

"I don't know Ron. Maybe I got tired of being treated like a doormat and crying over you. I'm sick of it. I will not feel bad anymore about my choices, so if you can't accept him then you can't accept me." She knew she was being a little bit unfair about this, but she was pushed over the edge. She was sick of people telling her what to do and how she should feel.

He hated this. He hated that he hurt her, but he needed her to be his friend. "I'm sorry Hermione. You were right. I was being an ass. I promise I won't do that anymore. Please I need you back. I miss talking to you."

Her eyes narrowed slightly at him. "You promise you won't fight me on this? You promise you will let it go and be cordial to him? If you can agree to both of those things I will give you another chance. If you can't then don't even bother."

"Yes I promise I'll let it go and not bother you about it anymore okay?"

"I'm a hold you to that promise."

After Ron apologized to Hermione and they talked it through, the Golden Trio was back together again. Ron, as he promised, never said another word about Severus and he held his tongue when Hermione went off about how good he was to her to her friends. It was difficult for him, but it was worth it. He loved Hermione as a friend and he didn't want to lose that. They continued with their classes and it was time for them to take their N.E.W.T.S. It was their final year at school and the scores they got determined what kind of job they can apply for. As predicted, Harry and Hermione were determined to do well on their tests, while Ron on the other hand didn't care much at all. He already had plans that didn't require him to do well on his test scores. He talked to a few people outside of school about Quidditch. After they say how good he can play and the passion he had for the sport he was given a job offer. He was going to take it after he finished school in just a few more weeks.

Hermione's nightmares were still reoccurring while she slept. She ended up not accepting the dreamless sleep potion that Severus offered. She didn't want to end up addicted to it and she was worried about the side effects. The potion was meant for a one time use not to be used every night. The nightmares were getting more difficult to cope with. They were becoming more and more life-like and it always ended with her dying alongside Severus. Sometimes she was being tortured, other times it was a quick wave of the wand. She woke up screaming every night and crying in her bed. She, as she promised to Severus, only stayed the one night and she hadn't snuck down to see him since then. She kept telling herself it was just a few more weeks, but it was getting difficult and she was exhausted with the very little sleep she had gotten. She pushed through it every day though, finding the strength to carry on. She got through the war she can get through the rest of the few weeks at school she told herself.

Hermione and Harry started studying together every night as they got closer to the testing date. Ron attempted to crack open a book and read a few pages, but after the first two to three days he stopped studying with them. Hermione was sad that he didn't bother to study. She was happy for him that he got a job offer in the field he liked, but she knew he couldn't rely on Quidditch his whole life. She tried telling him that, but he just blew up at her saying he'll save up money, so she dropped it. It was his life after all. Harry on the other hand planned on being an auror and he needed to get at least an exceed expectation on all of his tests to even be looked at. It doesn't matter how popular he was. It's all about test scores where he was going. Hermione also needed good test scores to be an apprentice. She planned on getting all Outstandings on her tests. She was, as they say, a know-it all. If she got anything less than that she would be disappointed in herself.

At the end of the testing week, both Harry and Hermione felt like they did well. Even Ron felt slightly accomplished. He didn't think he did fantastic, but he felt like he did enough in order to pass. At the end of the week all three of them got their test scores back. Hermione, as expected, got Oustandings in all of her classes. Harry got Outstandings in two of his classes, one of them being Defense against the Dark Arts, and the rest of his classes he received an Exceeds Expectations. Overall, the two of them were very pleased with themselves. Ron read his test scores and he received Acceptable in 4 out of the 5 classes and 1 Exceeds Expectations. He passed all five classes. Hermione commented to him that if he studied a little bit harder he could've gotten more than Acceptable, but he ignored her. He was just happy that school was finally over.

The last week of school was used to say goodbye to everyone. Now that testing was over classes were officially over. Hermione let her friends know that she wasn't going to be on the train with them heading home. She was staying at the castle with Severus. Ron was unhappy with it. He wanted her to come back to Grimmauld Place with them.

"If you ever have a problem Hermione there is always room for you at Grimmauld Place," Harry said.

"Thanks Harry, but I think Severus and I will be fine. Over the summer we might end up traveling together." Hermione smiled at the memory of their conversation just a few days ago.

He asked her to stay behind after class one day. She approached his desk after everyone left the classroom.

"I asked you to stay behind because we didn't get a chance to talk about our plans after school," Severus said. He forgot to ask her what she wanted to do, but with testing finally being over he felt it was the perfect chance to bring it up.

"What do you want to do, Severus?" She asked him with a smile. She was looking forward to seeing him after school. They can finally be together like they wanted to.

He walked around the desk and pulled her against his chest. "You don't have to leave on the train, Hermione. You can stay here and stay in my rooms for a few days and then decide what we want to do afterwards."

"I would love that, Severus. Thank you. Regarding afterwards I don't know I always wanted to travel. What do you think?"

"Now that the war is over I agree. Traveling sounds wonderful. Make a list of places you want to go and we'll plan it out together." He leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Now, I guess you better get going. You do have another class to get to."

She frowned, hating that she already had to leave his side. "I'll miss you. I can't wait until we can be together in the open. I look forward to my apprenticeship with you Severus."

"I look forward to having you here at the castle with me as well. It will make teaching a lot easier with you by my side."

She was broken out of her revere when Ron said, "I wish you would come with us Hermione. It won't be the same."

"I know, but we can still write letters and I can visit. You all have a floo in the house and I can floo there. Is Sirius going to be living with you two?" Hermione asked curiously.

"It is his house still so yes he will be staying with us. Remus moved out with Tonks and they found their own house to raise Teddy in. I am going to end up staying in the house until Ginny and I are ready to move out together. She still has another year of school left and then we can move on when that happens. Ron won't be at the house much at all with him playing Quidditch. He'll be traveling around the world with his team."

It was almost bittersweet with the three of them moving on separately. Of course she was happy for them and it was bound to happen. They got older now. They all were adults and they will still be friends just with separate jobs. "I'll miss you two a lot, but if you ever need me I'll be there just send me an owl." The two of them nodded at her and the Golden trio hugged each other tightly, sad to see her go.

The last day of school was their graduation. The class of 1998 sat down, out on the grounds, waiting for their name to be called. On the other side of their rows of chairs was another group of chairs that sat the parents of the graduates. They all were invited to see their kids graduate from Hogwarts. In front of the two rows of chairs was a huge stage that was transfigured with a quick swipe of the wand. On the stage were all the Professors and at the podium was Professor Dumbledore.

"Good morning class of 1998. We are here to see you off on your next journey in the Wizarding World. I am going to call each of your names, you will come up and take your diploma, and you will sit back down. Let us begin." He read off a list of names in alphabetical order. When he got to her name he began to speak. "This next student has far exceeded everyone's expectations. She has received the most Outstandings out of any of the students in the last thirty years and she did it while in a midst of a wizarding war. Because of her the war has been won. I would like you all to cheer for Hermione Jean Granger as she comes up here to receive her diploma." Hermione blushed hard as everyone started to cheer for her. She reached the podium and shook Dumbledore's hand. She took her diploma from his other hand and smiled at the crowd. As she passed the podium, she quickly smiled at Severus and for once he smiled back at her, not caring who saw him.

When everyone was finally called they were given the go ahead to leave on the Hogwarts Express. Hermione hugged Harry and Ron goodbye as tears started to fall from her eyes. "I'll miss you two a lot. We've been through so much and I'm glad to say that we did it."

They hugged her back just as tight. "I will be sure to write letters to you Hermione. I will let you know how my training is going at the Ministry," Harry said as he hugged his friend to his chest.

"Yeah Hermione I will send you letters as well while I'm traveling. Maybe one day you can go see me play a game or two. Thank you for forgiving me and giving me a chance to show you that I am a good friend."

She watched as the two of them walked away from her, carrying their luggage to the carriages. As she watched them go she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. She smiled when she saw it was Severus. She snuggled back into his arms, happy to see him here with her.

"You will see them again, Hermione. It's not goodbye forever," he said gently. He knew she was going to miss her friends a lot.

"I know Severus. It's just hard seeing them go their separate ways. We've been through so much together." She turned to him and continued speaking. "But I'm glad I finally get to be with you. I can't wait to start traveling around the world. As long as you're by my side I will be happy with whatever we decide."

He smiled and leaned down and kissed her soundly on the lips. He never thought he would find happiness until she came into his life so many years ago. He was happy that he was going to spend the rest of his life with her and he wouldn't have had it any other way.


	46. Chapter 46

Author's Note: The sequel to this story has finally been posted! It is named Hermione's Future: Life after the War! Please go check that out on my page.


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